Skip to main content

Full text of "Civil rights journal"

See other formats


en  i.n: 


CIVIL  RIGHTS 

Tfall2ooo  -  jUImmB  MJMJBBEMBU 


S  '\ 


,  hurOOOd  Marsluill  I  »«  I  lb,'"x 

g      EKofM«yU*iSchool«fU* 
▼*      Baltimore  Maryland 


U.S.  COMMISSION  ON  CIVIL  RIGHTS 

I  he  i  IS.  <  ommisslon  on  <  i v i l  Rights  is  an  Independent,  bipartisan  ageru  y  firsl  established  by 
(  ongress  In  1957  and  reestablished  In  1983.  It  is  directed  to: 

•  Investigate  complaints  alleging  thai  citizens  are  being  deprived  of  theii  righl  to  vote  bj 
reason  ol  their  race,  color,  religion,  sex,  age,  disability,  or  national  origin,  or  by  reason  oi 
fraudulent  practices; 

•  Study  and  colled  information  relating  to  discrimination  or  .1  denial  oi  equal  prote<  tion  oi 
the  laws  under  the  Constitution  because  of  race,  color,  religion,  sex,  axe,  disability,  or 
national  origin;  or  in  the  administration  oi  justice; 

•  Appraise  Federal  laws  and  policies  with  respect  to  discrimination  or  denial  of  equal 
protection  of  the  laws  because  of  race,  color,  religion,  sex,  age,  disability,  or  national  origin, 
or  in  the  administration  of  justice; 

•  Serve  as  a  national  clearinghouse  lor  information  in  respect  to  discrimination  or  denial  of 
equal  protection  of  the  laws  because  of  race,  color,  religion,  sex,  age,  disability,  or  national 
origin; 

•  Submit  reports,  findings,  and  recommendations  to  the  President  and  Congress; 

•  Issue  public  service  announcements  to  discourage  discrimination  or  denial  of  equal 
protection  of  the  laws. 

In  furtherance  of  its  fact-finding  duties,  the  Commission  may  hold  hearings  and  issue 
subpoenas  (within  the  State  in  which  the  hearing  is  being  held  and  within  a  100-mile  radius  of  the 
site)  for  the  production  of  documents  and  the  attendance  of  witnesses. 

The  Commission  consults  with  representatives  of  Federal,  State,  and  local  governments,  and 
private  organizations. 

Since  the  Commission  lacks  enforcement  powers  that  would  enable  it  to  apply  specific 
remedies  in  individual  cases,  it  refers  the  many  complaints  it  receives  to  the  appropriate  Federal, 
State,  or  local  government  agency,  or  private  organization  for  action. 

The  Commission  is  composed  of  eight  Commissioners  four  appointed  by  the  President  and 
four  by  Congress.  Not  more  than  four  of  the  members  can  be  of  the  same  political  party.  From 
among  the  Commission's  members,  the  President  designates  the  Chairperson  and  Vice 
Chairperson  with  the  concurrence  of  a  majority  of  the  members. 

Commissioners  serve  staggered  terms  of  six  years.  No  Senate  confirmation  is  required.  The 
President  may  remove  a  Commissioner  only  for  neglect  of  duty  or  malfeasance  in  office. 

Except  in  August,  the  Commissioners  hold  monthly  meetings  and  convene  several  other  times 
a  year  to  conduct  hearings,  conferences,  consultations,  and  briefings. 

The  Commission  has  51  Advisory  Committees— one  for  each  State  and  the  District  of 
Columbia.  Each  is  composed  of  citizens  familiar  with  local  and  State  civil  rights  issues.  The 
members  serve  without  compensation  and  assist  the  Commission  with  its  fact  finding, 
investigative,  and  information  dissemination  functions.  Members  are  nominated  by 
Commissioners  or  the  regional  director  for  the  area  and  voted  on  at  a  regular  meeting  of  the 
Commission.  The  tenn  of  office  is  two  years. 

A  full-time  Staff  Director  oversees  the  day-to  day  activities  of  the  Commission,  headquartered 
in  Washington,  DC.  The  Staff  Director  is  appointed  by  the  President  with  the  concurrence  of  a 
majority  of  the  Commission's  members,  and  serves  at  the  pleasure  of  the  President.  All 
Commission  personnel  are  employed  under  Federal  civil  service  regulations  and  job  classification 
standards. 

Each  of  the  Commission's  six  regional  offices  coordinates  the  Commission's  operations  in  its 
region  and  assists  the  State  Advisory  Committees  in  their  activities.  Regional  offices  are  in 
Washington,  Atlanta,  Chicago,  Kansas  City,  Denver,  and  Los  Angeles. 

The  Commission's  Robert  S.  Rankin  Civil  Rights  Memorial  Library  is  situated  in  Commission 
headquarters,  624  Ninth  St.,  N.W.,  Washington,  DC  20425. 

The  Commission  and  its  State  Advisory  Committees  have  produced  hundreds  of  reports  and 
studies  on  national,  regional,  and  local  civil  rights  matters.  Copies  of  these  publications  are 
available  free  to  the  public,  as  is  a  "Catalog  of  Publications,"  by  request  to  the  I\iblication  Office, 
U.S.  Commission  on  Civil  Rights,  624  9th  Street,  N.W.  Room  600,  Washington,  DC  20425. 

The  U.S.  Commission  on  Civil  Rights  is  an  independent,  bipartisan,  fact-finding  agency 
charged  with  a  variety  of  functions  relating  to  discrimination  or  a  denial  of  equal  protection  of  the 
laws  because  of  race,  color,  religion,  sex,  age,  disability,  or  national  origin,  or  in  the  administration 
of  justice.  Articles  and  other  material  contained  herein  do  not  necessarily  reflect  the  policy  of  the 
Commission,  but  are  offered  to  stimulate  thinking  and  discussion  about  various  civil  rights  issues. 


CIVILRIGHTS 


I  ditor 

David  Aronson 

Copy  F.ditor 

Marcia  lyler 

Editorial  Assistant 
(arolita  Little 

Interns 

Susan  Dobc-rt 
Troy  Emmons 
Beth  Johnson 
Jenessen  Nelson 
Christina  Rasco 
Judith  Siegel 


Design  Consultant 

Michelle  Wandres 


Photo  is  Cartoon  Credits 

Cover  &  Page  4:  Paul  J. 

Demaria/The  New  York  Times. 

Page  7:  Scott  Nelson/Agence 

France  Press. 

Pages  12,  13,  17,  36,  38:  Corbis 

Photos. 

Pages  27,  28,  29:  Carole 

Gallagher. 

Pages  49-54:  Wayne  Miller. 

Magnum  Photos. 


U.S.  Commission  on  Ch 
Rights 

Mary  Frances  Berry 
Chairperson 

Cruz  Reynoso 
Vice  Chairperson 

Carl  A.  Anderson 

Christopher  Edley.  Jr. 

Elsie  M.  Meeks 

Yvonne  Y.  Lee 

Russell  G.  Redenbaugh 

Victoria  Wilson 


Ruby  G.  Moy 
Staff  Director 


CIVILRIGHTS 


|  US  COMMISSION  ON  CIVIL  RIGHTS  | 
Fall  2000 


Volume  5,  Number  1 


The  New  Slavery 

by  Jesse  Sage 

Why  the  Nation's  Civil  Rights  Community 

Must  Respond  to  the  Rise  in  Involuntary 

Servitude 


12 

Death  on  the 
Border 

by  Karen  Hastings 
Increased  Patrol  Efforts 
Have  Helped  Bring 
Peace  to  Border  Towns, 
but  at  What  Cost? 


18 

What's  Wrong  with  this  Picture? 

by  Martin  Gilens 

How  the  News  Media  Misrepresent  Blacks 

and  the  Poor 


27 

Human 

Radiation 

Experiments: 

The  Still  . 

Unfolding 

Legacy 

by  Dan  Guttinan 

History  Taught  the 

Lessons:  Did  We 

Learn? 


33 

Going  Global 

by  Gay  McDougall 

Internationalizing  Civil  Rights  Helps  Put  the 

Pressure  Back  on  Washington 


36 

Putting  a  Lock  on  Justice 

by  Carl  Cannon 

The  Hidden  Costs  of  Disproportionately 

Incarcerating  Minorities 


42 

Crossing  the  Wall? 

by  Harry  Lynn  and  Richard  Ci/.ik 

A  Debate  on  Charitable  Choice  and  the 

Separation  of  Church  and  State 


46 

State  of  the  Disabled 

by  Mary  Dolan 

A  New  Survey  Examines  Trends  in  the 

Quality  of  Life  of  Disabled  Americans 


49 

Chicago's  South  Side 

by  Wayne  F.  Miller 

A  Photo  Essay  from  the  1940s. 


,         ^25*" 


BOOK     REVIEWS 


55  Myths  of  a  Golden  Era:  Motherhood  in  the  1950s 

by  Elizabeth  Bernstein 

58  Love  Everybody  Right  Now 

by  Aleta  Richards 

60  "A  Hopeless  Condition  of  Exile" 

by  Margaret  Meltzer 


62 


Capsule  Reviews 


The  Civil  Rights  Journal  is  published  by  the  U.S.  Commission  on  Civil  Rights,  us  part  of  its  clearinghouse  responsibilities.  Editorial  inquiries  and  manuscript  sub- 
missions should  be  directed  to  The  Editor,  Civil  Rights  Journal,  U.S.  Commission  on  Civil  Rights,  624  Ninth  St.,  N.W.,  Washington,  DC  20425. 

Articles  and  other  material  contained  herein  do  not  necessarily  reflect  USCCR  policy  but  are  offered  to  stimulate  Banking  and  discussion  about  various  civil  rights 
issues.  No  permission  is  required  to  quote  or  reprint  contents  with  the  exception  of  those  that  are  copyrighted  by  authors  or  from  other  publications. 

The  Civil  Rights  Journal  is  available  from  the  superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington,  DC  20402.  Use  of  funds  for  producing  Uie 
Civil  Rights  Journal  has  been  approved  by  the  Director  of  the  Office  of  Management  and  Budget. 


2     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Three  Questions 


Abolitionism  is  a  quaint  word,  a  19th  century  word,  a 
word  thai  conjures  up  woodcuts  of  Crocked  men  with 
muttonchops  and  bluestockings  in  whale-bone  corsetsj 
we  can  imagine  them  now,  over-earnest  types  milling 
about  the  podium,  the  speaker  in  a  teapot  pose,  one 
hand  stabbing  the  air.  the  other  palming  a  bible.  It  all 
seems  so  ettorttul,  so  Sunday-schoolish.  Even  the  (  i\il 
War,  which  ought  to  invoke  a  hushed  respect  (as  main 
Americans  died  in  one  day  ol  lighting  at  Antietam  as 
died  in  14  years  in  Vietnam),  seems  antiquated,  a  toy  -sol- 
dier version  ol  itself. 

Onlv  it  wasn't,  ol  course.  And  the  men  and  women 
depicted  in  those  textbook  illustrations  were  every  hit  as 
ambiguous,  troubled,  and  complex  as  ourselves.  In  truth, 
thej  maj  have  one  up  on  us:  rhey,  at  least,  could  claim 
a  strenuous  moral  engagement  in  their  time,  whereas  we 
often  seem  to  float  above  any  serious  political  work,  pre- 
ferring the  sham  of  symbolic  recognition  over  the  sub- 
Stance  ol  change.  What  passes  for  progressive  political 
action  today  tar  too  often  benefits  those  who  are  already 
politically  mobilized  over  those  who  are  not. 

Case  in  point  It  took  a  (  IA  report  to  bring  some  pub- 
lic attention  to  the  massive  number  of  women  and  chil- 
dren being  brought  into  this  country  every  year  to  work 
on  terms  of  indentured  servitude  and  slavery.  A  leaked 
copy  of  the  report  led  t<  >  a  st<  >ry  <  >n  the  back  pages  of  the 
New  )ork  rimes  which  led  to  .  .  .  absolutely  nothing.  No 
Congressional  hearings,  no  demonstrations,  no  coalition 
ot  outraged  constituency  groups  demanding  that  our 

gl  >v  eminent  do  more  to  end  this  SCOUrge.  To  be  an  abo- 
litionist today  risks  sounding  like  a  flat-earther:  a  cham- 
pion oi  the  eccentricly  ana<  hronistic. 

i  xcept  that  there  are  slaves  today  in  \merica.  I  Ins 
bears  repeating:  I  here  are  slaves  today  in  America. 
According  to  the  (  IA  report,  SO, (MM)  new  slaves  arrive  on 

oui  shores  ea<  h  year.  I  he)  work  in  our  fields;  they  work 
in  our  dothing  factories;  they  work  in  brothels  and  on 
street  corners.  Hut  who  now  is  saving,  as  Frederick  DOU- 
glasssald  to  his  enslaved  brethren,  "What  you  sutler,  we 
sutler;  what  vou  endure,  we  endure"' 

In  a  recent  episode  ol  the  FOX  IV  show  The  Simpsons, 
the  townspeople  mobilize  to  protest  the  lack  ot  police 
protection  alter  .1  bear  attacks  Homer  in  his  front  yard; 
when  the  mayoi  protests  that  this  is  clear!)  a  freak  acci- 
dent, a  woman  in  the  1  rowd  cries  out:  "  I  hink  ot  the  chil- 
dren'" later,  the  same  crowd,  angered  about  the'  high 
taxes  the)  are  pa)  ing  tor  mc  reased  protection,  again  con- 
fronts the  mayor.  Again,  the  woman  protests,  "Think  ot 
the  children'" 


It's  hard  to  think  ot  a  political  cause  that  slogan  can't 
appl)  to.  still,  not  all  applications  are  equalh  valid  And 

one  group  ot  children  who  aren't  being  much  thought 

about  are  the  million  and  a  hall  sons  and  daughters  ol  the 

country's  inmates,  in  his  article  on  the  disproportionate 
incarceration  of  minorities,  National  Journal  writer  Carl 
(  am  ion  points  out  the  short-sightedness  ot  this  approach. 
1  he  children  who  most  need  extra  resources  and  attention 
aren't  getting  them.  Twenty  years  from  now,  when  these 
policies  have  produced  another  generation  of  inmates, 
there  will  no  doubt  be  plenty  of  tolks  nodding  sagely 
about  how  the  acorn  never  falls  far  from  the  tree. 

A  scholar  at  the  RAND  Institute  (hardly  a  liberal 
redoubt)  recently  argued  that  drug  treatment  programs 
would  reduce  serious  crimes  (against  both  property  and 
persons)  the  most  per  million  dollars  spent — on  the  order 
of  fifteen  times  as  much  as  have  current  mandatory  incar- 
ceration policies.  Nco-conscrvatives  gained  political  trac- 
tion in  the  1970s  and  1980s  arguing  that  traditional  liberal 
solutions  failed  those  they  were  designed  to  help.  With 
America's  prison  population  projected  to  pass  the  two  mil- 
lion mark  in  the  next  year  or  so,  surelv  there  are  some  neo- 
tiberals  out  there  to  argue  that  our  current  law-and-order 
policies  simply  aren't  prov  ing  cost-effective? 

A  recent  paper  published  by  the  National  Bureau  of 
I  conomic  Research  demonstrates  the  complexities  of  cur- 
rent race  matters.  It  finds  that  juries,  on  average,  sentence 
drunk  drivers  to  seven  years  in  jail  for  killing  a  white 
woman,  tour  years  for  killing  a  white  man,  and  two  years 
lor  killing  a  black  man.  1  his  is  true  regardless  ot  what  race 
the  drunk  driver  is;  no  word  regarding  the  composition  ot 
the'  jury. 

Assume  that  the  finding  holds  mu\  that  the  relevant 
issues  have  been  controlled  for— NBER  has  a  prett)  solid 
reputation.  It's  easy  to  take  any  one  part  ol  this  finding 
ami  arrive  at  a  predictable  conclusion.  It's  hard  to  know 
what  to  makeol  it  all.  Docs  society  value  women  twice  as 
much  as  men.'  Whites  twice  as  much  as  blacks?  Why  do 
the  disparities  depend  on  the  race  of  the  victim  but  not  ol 
the  perpetrator?  I  he  social  psvc  hologists  ol  an  earlier  age, 
like  I  heodore  Adomo  and  ( lordon  Alport,  gave  us  a  the- 
ory ol  prejudice  based  on  the  o|xrations  of  the  authori- 
tarian personality— plausible  enough,  in  the  age  ot  Hull 
(  onnoi  and  in  the  shadow  ol  Nazism.  Hut  we  need  a  new, 
more  nuaiHed  a\\^.\  non-judgmental  understanding  of 

prejudice  <  lariry  the  subtle  ways  prejudice  operates  today, 

and  you'll  accomplish  fai  more  than  all  the  hlusterv 
denials  and  moral  bullying  that  charai  teii/e  so  much  ot 
our  current  discussion.  1  I  hat's  a  question.)     D 


Fall  20O0  /  Civil  R 


FROM  BOND 


"You  CAN  CALL  ME  DAWN,"  the  voice  at  the  other  end  of 
the  line  said.  "I  am  contacting  you  because  there  is  a 
woman  enslaved  in  the  apartment  across  the  hall  from 
my  mother." 

Not  your  everyday  phone  call,  even  at  the  American 
Anti-Slavery  Group.  Founded  in  1993  to  monitor  con- 
temporary slavery  worldwide,  the  organization  I  work 
for  focuses  primarily  on  chattel  slavery  in  North  Africa. 
We  publicize  the  plight  of  enslaved  African  women  and 
children,  bought  and  sold  like  cattle  in  countries  such  as 
Sudan  and  Mauritania.  Advocates  for  silenced  victims  in 
distant  countries,  we  work  to  make  their  cases  immedi- 
ate to  the  international  community. 

But  suddenly  slavery  itself  was  immediate.  Dawn's 
mother  lived  just  minutes  from  our  offices  in  Boston. 
Dawn  explained  that  a  couple  from  Saudi  Arabia  with  a 
young  son  moved  in  across  the  hall  from  her  mother.  A 
Thai  woman  who  speaks  no  English  lived  with  them. 
"When  the  couple  leave  for  work,  she  runs  across  the 
hall  to  my  mother's,  crying.  We  can't  understand  her, 
but  she  appears  to  be  the  boy's  nanny — and  she  shows 
signs  of  physical  abuse." 

Dawn  had  gotten  our  number  from  Amnesty  Inter- 
national (Amnesty,  which  does  not  include  slavery  in  its 
mandate,  forwards  questions  on  slavery  to  us).  Her 
mother  feared  being  part  of  any  official  investigation, 
and  refused  to  contact  the  police.  Dawn  was  also  con- 
cerned and  would  only  provide  the  Saudis'  address.  "I 
am  afraid  to  get  any  more  involved.  I  just  want  to  make 
sure  that  this  woman  gets  help." 

What  to  do?  Never  having  handled  such  a  case 
before,  we  decided  to  try  to  talk  to  the  woman  herself.  A 
translator  from  one  of  the  local  language  schools  kindly 
volunteered  to  help,  but  could  not  accompany  us  to  the 
apartment  building.  She  would  stand  by  to  talk  to  the 
woman  via  cell  phone. 

One  hour  before  our  noontime  visit  to  the  apartment 
building,  Dawn  called  to  report  that  the  woman  had 
fled  to  the  building's  parking  attendant,  begging  for 
help.  The  police  were  now  investigating,  but  meanwhile 
the  woman  had  been  returned  to  the  apartment. 

4     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


* 


The  civil  rights  community  must  respond 
to  the  disturbing  rise  in  cases  of 
involuntary  servitude  in  the  United  States. 

by  Jesse  Sage 


A 


Later,  I  spoke  with  the  police  detective  assigned  to  the 
case,  who  expressed  concern  hut  explained  little  could  he 
done.  The  woman's  "owner"  had  legal  Immigration 
papers  for  her,  as  well  as  a  letter  from  her  husband  con- 
senting to  his  wife's  work. 

"The  woman's  account  of  forced  servitude  is  really 
shocking,  but  we  have  no  legal  basis  for  pressing 
charges,''  lamented  the  detective.  "She  has  nowhere  to 
go,  so  she  went  back." 

New  Economy,  New  Slavery 

In  1866,  just  as  the  U.S.  was  completing  passage  of  con- 
stitutional measures  against  slavery,  Frederick  Douglass 
presciently  noted  the  tenacity  of  the  nation's  peculiar 
institution.  "Slavery,  like  all  other  great  systems  of 
wrong,  founded  in  the  depths  of  human  selfishness,  and 
existing  for  ages,  has  not  neglected  its  own  conserva- 
tion," Douglass  observed.  Today,  it  is  so  strong  that  it 
could  exist,  not  only  without  law,  but  even  against  law." 

Yet  even  Douglass  could  never  have  foreseen  just  how 
strong  slavery  would  grow,  today,  in  the  year  2(XX),  when 
slavery  is  deemed  illegal  In  every  country  and  in  numer- 
ous Internationa]  treaties,  more  people  live  In  bondage 
worldwide  than  ever  before.  And,  as  new  studies  indicate, 
tens  of  thousands  of  these  victims  are  enslaved  on  our 
shores,  in  our  cities,  even  in  our  own  backyards. 

Using  a  simple  but  strict  definition  of  slavery — forced 
labor  lor  no  pay  under  the  threat  of  violence — sociologist 
Dr.  Kevin  Bales  estimates  that  27  million  people  live  as 
slaves  worldwide.  In  his  groundbreaking  new  book  D/s- 
posable  People:  New  Slavery  in  the  Global  Economy,  Bales 
advances  the  thesis  that  much  of  contemporary  slavery 
has  become  a  quasi-industrialized  institution:  a  brutal  but 
i tin  nut  and  profitable  process  of  entrapment,  exploita- 
tion, and  abandonment  slaves  are  lured  or  abducted  from 
their  homes,  psychologically  and  physicall)  intimidated, 
forced  to  work  In  de-humanizing  conditions,  and  then 
discarded  when  they  are  too  ill  t<>  work. 

Chinese  refugees  from  a  ship  that  grounded  off  the  Rockaway 
Peninsula  in  Queens,  1993. 


Fall  2ono      i  \\ 


Bales  contrasts  this  "new  slavery"  with  the  paradigm 
<>t  chattel  slavery  so  familial  from  American  history 
Slaves  in  the  1850s  were  a  valuable  commodity;  worth 
on  average  (60,000  In  today's  terms.  Masters  therefore 
tended  to  sustain  slaves  during  Infancy  and  old  age, 
despite  making  relatively  small  profil  margins  <>n  slave 
laboi  (roughly  5%  annually). 

( riven  today's  massive  population  boom  in  regions  oi 
staggering  poverty  modern  masters  Instead  enjoy  a  sur- 
feit i»t  potential  slave  labor  and  enormous  potential  prof- 
Its.  With  slaves  traded  for  as  little  as  $30,  masters  employ 
slaves  only  when  they  are  profitable,  then  discard  them. 
In  an  age  of  record  salaries  and  a  booming  economy, 
some  human  lives  have  never  been  less  valuable. 


Today,  in  th 


TREATIES^  RARE  PEOPL 


BONDAGE 


Slave  labor  touches  us  in  many  ways.  Charcoal  from 
forced  laborers  in  the  Brazilian  rainforest  makes  the  steel 
in  our  cars.  Oriental  rugs  found  in  our  homes  are  woven 
by  Pakistani  child  slaves.  Sweet  "beedi"  cigarettes  rolled 
by  slave  children  in  Indian  are  smoked  by  thousands  of 
American  teens  every  day. 

And  according  to  a  November  report  by  the  CIA, 
50,000  people  were  trafficked  into  the  U.S.  in  the  last 
year.  "Trafficking  to  the  U.S.  is  likely  to  increase,"  the 
report  noted.  "INS  and  Labor  Department  officials  fear 
that  the  problem  is  not  only  bigger  than  they  thought 
but  also  getting  worse."  The  apartment  across  from 
Dawn's  mother  was  no  isolated  case. 

Land  of  the  Free 

In  retrospect,  the  news  is  hardly  shocking.  Evidence  of 
slavery  in  America  has  been  steadily  mounting.  In  1978, 
for  instance,  FBI  agents  in  Miami  discovered  Rose  Iftony,  a 
young  girl  from  Siena  Leone,  held  as  a  domestic  slave  and 
kept  inside  the  house  of  a  Pakistani  couple.  One  agent 
referred  to  Rose's  bondage  as  "the  first  classic  case  of  slav- 
ery [in  the  U.S.]  this  century  that  the  FBI  knows  of." 

In  1992,  a  slavery  case  in  another  Boston  suburb  made 
national  news.  A  young  Sri  Lankan  women,  Vasantha 
Gedara,  was  rescued  by  police  from  the  home  of  a 
Kuwaiti  couple  in  Quincy,  Mass.  Like  thousands  of  other 
Asian  women,  Gedara  had  sought  employment  as  a 
domestic  worker  in  Kuwait.  She  agreed  to  travel  to  the 
U.S.  with  the  son  of  her  employer  for  $250  per  month 
plus  room  and  board.  But  what  she  discovered  after  land- 


RNATIONAL 


RLDWIDE  THAN 


mg  at  Logan  .ii r j k »i i  was  .i  life  <>t  domestic  sto 

i.ii.ii  \lzanl  I,  .i  W  year-old  graduate  student  .it  Boston 
University,  and  his  wife  forbid  <  ledara  to  leave  the  house, 
gavi  in  i  no  days  on"  from  housekeeping,  forced  bei  to 
sleep  on  the  Boor,  fed  hei  si  raps,  and  threatened  to  Kill 

her  il  she  lett  the  apartment    "  I  hey  tell  me  if  I  go  out, 
policemen    Will    shoot    and    kill    me,"    she    later   told 

reporters.  "I  believe  it." 

Private  nurses  taring  tor  the  Al/anki's  ill  son  l« 
SUSpidOUS.  Alter  sneaking  (  nil. ir.i  food  lor  several  weeks, 
the\'  arranged  fol  a  police  officer  to  rescue  her  from  the 
apartment.  In  1994,  Al/anki  w.is  convicted  of  involun- 
tary servitude,  while  Hollywood  producers  courted 
Gedara  about  doing  a  movie  on  her  life. 

Perpetrators  of  invol- 
untary servitude  come 
from  around  the  world. 
A  January  2000  front- 
page story  in  the  Wash- 
ington Post  described  the 
plight  of  a  Brazilian 
maid  kept  for  years  as  a 
domestic  slave  by  com- 
patriots in  a  DC  suburb. 
In  August,  a  couple  from 
Cameroon  living  in  Detroit  was  indicted  for  enslaving  a 
young  girl  they  had  imported  as  a  nanny. 

Yet  for  every  successful  rescue  and  rehabilitation, 
there  are  thousands  of  cases  that  either  go  undetected  or 
are  never  prosecuted  (as  I  learned  firsthand).  By  the 
numbers,  roughly  30,000  women  and  children  are  traf- 
ficked annually  from  Southeast  Asia,  10,000  from  Latin 
America,  4,000  from  the  Newly  Independent  States  and 
Eastern  Europe,  and  1,000  from  other  regions. 

Cases  of  contemporary  involuntary  servitude  are  by 
no  means  limited  to  the  domestic  sphere.  In  1997,  a 
group  of  hearing-impaired  and  mute  Mexicans  were 
enslaved,  beaten,  and  forced  to  peddle  trinkets  in  New 
York  City.  The  FBI  is  now  even  investigating  cases  of 
women  being  sold  as  sex  slaves  via  Internet-auctions. 

In  the  peach-picking  industry,  some  migrant  domestic 
workers — immigrants  and  native  Americans — languish 
in  bondage  to  overseers,  who  keep  ledgers  of  ever-grow- 
ing worker  debts  that  must  be  repaid  in  labor.  Despite 
prominent  coverage  of  industry  abuses  by  CNN  and  CBS 
News,  problems  persist.  In  1998,  authorities  were  able  to 
liberate  28  indentured  laborers  in  South  Carolina  when 
crew  leaders  accidentally  revealed  their  second,  illicit  set 
of  books  to  inspectors.  According  to  Dianne  Mull,  Exec- 
utive Director  of  the  Virginia-based  Association  of  Farm- 
worker Opportunity  Programs,  there  are  "too  few  pro- 
tective laws  under  agriculture  labor  standards." 

A  group  of  Columbia  graduate  students  recently 
demonstrated  how  easy  it  is  to  locate  cases  of  involun- 
tary servitude.  While  working  on  a  global  report  for  our 
organization,     the     students     visited     New     York's 


6     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


(  hinatown,  where  thej  located  young  women  trapped 
in  debt  bondage  waiting  outside  black  market  employ- 
ment agencies.  I  he  women  had  been  smuggled  mt'>  tin.- 
country  illegally  bv  "snakeheads,"  and  were  now  forced 
to  work  In  the  snakeheads'  massage  parlors  to  pay  off 
their  $50,000 debts. 

In  .1  growing  global  economy,  the  US.  Is  Increasingly  .1 
nexus  for  all  sorts  ol  International  trade,  Including  human 
traffic  rhe  (  i\  report  dtes  several  reasons  for  America's 
new  appeal:  weak  economies  In  countries  <>t  origin;  low 
risk  ol  prosecution  and  enormous  profil  potential  tor  tr.it- 
tkkiTs;  and  Improved  intiTiiation.il  transportation  Infra- 
structures. Organized  <  rime 
syndicates  from  the  Russian 
Mafiya  to  <  hinese  Immigranl 
smuggling  rin^s  have  discov- 
ered a  lucrative  racket  and  are 
cashing  in. 

As  Americans  have  become 
Increasingh  aware  ol  slavery, 
the  response  has  been  encour- 
aging hut  tar  irom  adequate. 
law  enforcement  officials  are 
devoting  Increasing  resources, 
<  ongress  is  considering  ex- 
panding existing  statutes,  and 
non-profits  are  springing  up 
to  aid  \Ktims  and  formulate 
policy.  Yet  no  popular  anti- 
slavery  movement  has  taken 
root  While  individual  citi- 
zens have  been  instrumental 

in  Identifying  cases  ol  Invol- 
untary servitude,  uvil  society 

as  a  whole  has  not  mobilized 

to  confront  this  fundamental 

mil  rights  violation. 


ment  tor  transportation  iosts,  and  threatened  anyone 
who  tried  to  escape  this  debt  bondage.  *  hildren  were  even 

held  as  hostages,  and  two  workers  who  tried  to  escape 

were  beaten  and  suit  ba<  k  to  1  hailand. 

1  he  garment  factor)  had  operated  for  nearl)  three 
years  without  attracting  much  notice,  "it  you  passed  by 
here,  you  wouldn't  have  thought  they  had  a  business 
going  on  Inside,"  remarked  one  neighbor.  Another 
admitted  thinking  little  ol  the  house's  spiked  fences  and 
barred  windows:  "I  thought  thai  the  barbed  wire  was  a 
pni. mt ion  against  crime  In  the  area."  Who  would  have 

thought  that  the  real  Crime  was  instead  inside.' 


The  Clothes  off  Our  Backs 


<  heck  the  designer  label  on 
youi  shirt.  On  August  3, 
1995,  t  alifomia  labor  offic  lab  asked  the  public  to  do  just 
that,  rhe  occasion:  a  press  conference  held  to  announce 
the  liberation  <>t  a  slave  workshop  in  the  Los  Angeles 
suburb  ol  II  Monk-.  Seventy-tWO  I  hal  workers  had  hem 
trapped  Inside,  working  16-hour  days  sewing  garments 
with  labels  like  Macy's,  1  ilenc's  and  He*  fit's. 

"Perhaps  some  ot  the  clothes  we  are  now  wearing 
might  have  been  made  at  this  location,"  announced  (  ali- 
fomia State  labor  (  ommissioiur  Victoria  IHadshaw  "I 
never  would  have  Ulievid  a  situation  like  thiSCOUld  exist 

m  the  United  states."  Do/ens  ot  Illegal  lhai  Immigrants, 
most  ot  them  bused  straight  from  .nr|>ort,  were  linked  up 
and  guarded  by  night,  and  forced  to  sew  garments  tor 
si  '.11  .in  hom  bj  day.  Factory  owners  demanded  repay- 


Three-year-old  Phanuphong  Khaisri  of  Thailand  plays  with  his  court-appointed  temporary  guardian 
in  Los  Angeles,  May  2000.  Phanuphong,  nicknamed  "Cot, "  was  detained  in  the  company  of  two 
unrelated  adults  who  were  using  him  in  an  apparent  scheme  to  smuggle  indentured  servants  into 
America. 


In  a  pre-dawn  raid,  Immigration  offic  lals  stormed  the 
compound.  Six  lhai  nationals  were  subsequently 
charged  with  peonage,  or  involuntary  servitude  Invoh  ■ 
Ing  repayment  ot  debts.  Bolstered  by  prominent 

national  puss  coverage,  Victims  quickl)  received  assist - 

ance  from  local  aid  groups  and  even  labor  Secretary 
Robert  Reich,  who  announced  a  suit  tor  back  wages 
against  manufacturers  and  retail  chains.  Vktims  even- 
tual!) won  a  S4  million  OUt-of-COUTt  settlement. 
1 1  Montr  proved  a  watershed.  \s  one  high-ranking 

lUStice  Department  official  notes,  "We  became  aware 

ot  invoiuiitarv  servitude  relatlvel)  recently,  rhe  El 
Montr  case  was  the  first  prominent  case  that  we 
brought." 


Pall  20 


Lack  of  Diplomacy 

As  .inv  steamed  New  Yorker  ( an  relate,  diplomats  nevei 
|i,n  parking  tickets.  Undo  the  Vienna  (  onvention  on 
I  )jpi(  mi.it [<  Relations,  foreign  diplomats  cannol  be  pros- 
ecuted i»\  .1  host  country.  While  the  state  Department 
expects  envoys  in  abide  by  local  laws,  Including  wage 
.mil  hour  provisions,  there  is  a  growing  concern  among 
labor  activists  thai  diplomatic  immunity  has  become  a 
convenienl  cover  lor  slavery. 

I  first  heard  of  slaves  in  embassies  from  Moctar  Teyeb, 
the  Outreach  Director  oi  our  organization  and  himself 
an  escaped  Mauritanian  slave.  As  reported  In  a  fanuary 
cover  story  for  the  /Ww  Yorker,  Teyeb  has  a  relative  who 
arrived  In  the  U.S.  as  a  slave  for  a  Mauritanian  diplomat. 
According  to  Teyeb,  African  slaves  can  be  found  in  Mau- 
ritanian missions  throughout  the  U.S. 

But  what  I  initially  thought  was  a  unique  outpost  of 
Mauritania's  800-year-old  system  of  black  chattel  slavery 
turns  out  to  be  part  of  a  much  larger  phenomenon. 


LE  ARE  TR 


KED  INTO  T 


According  to  officials  at  Human  Rights  Watch,  which  is 
currently  investigating  the  treatment  of  migrant  domes- 
tic workers  with  employment-based  visas,  wage  and 
hour  abuse  inside  the  diplomatic  corps  are  rampant.  One 
study  of  43  potential  cases  uncovered  42  violations,  of 
which  14  could  be  deemed  involuntary  servitude. 
Though  not  a  random  sampling,  the  results  are  sufficient 
cause  for  concern. 

Researchers  cite  the  recent  plight  of  Shamela  Begum 
as  a  textbook  case.  Begum,  the  wife  of  a  vegetable  vendor 
in  Bangladesh,  watched  friends  work  abroad  and  return 
with  money  to  build  new  homes.  Though  illiterate,  she 
signed  on  as  a  domestic  worker  in  Bahrain,  only  to  find 
herself  working  for  her  employer's  brother  in  New  York: 
Mohammed  Saleh,  the  second  secretary  at  the  Bahraini 
Mission  to  the  UN. 

In  Bahrain,  U.S.  Embassy  officials  had  issued  a  visa 
after  viewing  a  minimum  wage  contact  with  free  room 
and  board.  But,  in  December  of  1998,  when  Begum 
arrived  at  Saleh's  East  Side  Manhattan  apartment  near 
the  UN,  her  passport  was  confiscated.  She  was  fed  little, 
beaten  occasionally,  and  could  only  leave  the  apartment 
accompanied  by  the  Salehs.  "I  just  cried,"  she  later  told 
reporters.  "They  wouldn't  let  me  see  another  human 
being." 

On  one  short  walk  around  Manhattan  with  Saleh's 
wife,  Begum  heard  a  sidewalk  vendor  speaking  her  native 
Bengali.  When  the  couple  later  left  town,  she  slipped  out 
and  traced  her  way  back  to  the  vendor,  and  poured  out 


ha  ItOty.  Aiidol.in,  ■  >  South   \sian  workers'  rights  group, 

promptly  alerted  the  |wii<  e,  who  seized  Begum  but  <ouid 
not  press  i  barges  against  Saleh 

With  legal  assistance  from  the  Isian-Amerfcan  u-gal 
i  defense  and  I  dm  attonal  I  und,  Begum  sued  the  Salehs 
As  her  lawyer,  <  haumtolJ  Huq,  remarked  "Hiring  an 
employee  to  c  lean  your  house  and  wati  h  your  children 
is  not  related  to  consular  functions  and  should  not  Ir- 

Immune  from  Federal  and  state-  law."  ihe  Clinton 

Administration,  however,  sided  with  the  defense,  fearing 
retaliation  against  American  diplomats  abroad.  Still,  pub- 
licity from  prominent  New  Yak  lions  coverage  of  the 
case  compelled  the  Salehs  to  settle  out  ot  court  tor  an 
undisclosed  sum. 

Cases  like  Begum's  have  become  daily  news  tor  |oy 
Zarembka  of  the  DC-based  Campaign  for  Migrant  Domes- 
tic Worker's  Rights.  ( )|>erating  out  ot  the  Institute  for  Pol- 
icy Studies,  the  campaign  focuses  on  cases  of  involuntary 
servitude  under  work-visa  conditions.  The  campaign  ini- 
tially lobbied  the  IMF  and  World  Bank  to  adopt  employ- 
ment guidelines  for 
diplomats. 
Wm  f.  Then  the  calls  started. 

Reports  of  slavery  cases 
began  streaming  in,  and 
Zarembka  found  herself 
"becoming  more  of  a 
victim  support  service  than  a  straightforward  advocacy 
campaign."  With  a  coalition  of  two  dozen  DC  area  serv- 
ice organizations,  the  campaign  provides  vital  assistance 
to  victims  who  are  often  illiterate  and  speak  no  English. 
Of  late,  Zarembka's  office  has  been  receiving  five  cases  a 
day,  including  one  involving  an  Ivy  League  professor 
and  another  featuring  a  200-unit  luxury  hi-rise  filled 
with  Indonesian  women  serving  Middle  Eastern  diplo- 
mats and  students. 

Profiting  from  Prostitution 

One  of  the  most  prevalent  forms  of  slavery  involves  traf- 
ficking women  into  the  country  for  sexual  purposes.  And 
for  the  traffickers,  business  is  booming.  According  to  the 
INS,  over  250  brothels  in  26  different  cities  likely  involve 
trafficking  victims.  The  CIA  report  estimates  that  some 
crime  syndicates  have  made  as  much  as  S8  million  in 
recent  years  pimping  trafficked  women. 

Whether  coerced  or  abducted  into  prostitution, 
women  and  girls  are  profitable  twice-over.  Initially,  they 
are  charged  inflated  prices  for  empty  promises — alleged 
jobs,  false  documentation,  housing,  food,  transporta- 
tion, and  even  protection — for  which  traffickers  demand 
repayment.  Once  transported  (either  to  the  advertised 
destination  or  far  from  it)  victims  are  then  forced  into 
prostitution  and  other  sex-related  industries.  Robbed  first 
through  their  purses,  women  are  then  robbed  through 
their  bodies. 


8     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Si\  trafficking  draws  mastets  and  victims  from  .mi  our 
the  world  to  the  United  states.  In  one  recent  case.  Russ- 
ian-American Alexander  Mishulovich  was  found  guilt)  i>t 
luring  Latvian  women  to<  hicago  under  the  pretense  thai 
the)  would  be  employed  as  (<  lothed)  dancers  In  high-end 
dubs,  i  Ipon  arrival  women  were  Instead  forced  to  dance 
t< ipks-s  or  even  completely  nude  Rather  than  receiving 
the  promised  (60,000 salary,  victims  were  beaten  and  mal- 
treated, and  \tri|>|K-d  ot  their  passjxirts  and  visas. 

I  lu-  1995  case  ol  US.  v.  Witttanastri  focused  on  a  Ger- 
man national  living  in  lhailand,  Ludwig  lanak,  who 
recruited    ITial  women   tO  the  U.S.,  where  the)    were 

forced  Into  prostitution  by  I  ha]  traffickers  and  a  Korean 
madam.  I  his  transnational  trade  was  partii  ulart)  shock- 
ing;  the  women   were  detained   in   an   underground 

brothel  with  barred  windows  and  24-hour  surveillance 
until  the)  paid  i  >n  their  sas.imk)  smuggling  debt  Main 

were  forced  to  have  Sex  with  4<MKS(K)  men  m  order  to 

redeem  themselves. 

Sex  trafficking  is  not  limited  to  adults — or  females,  in 
May,  a  (  olorado  jury  convicted  a  math  teacher,  Michael 
i  hades  smith,  lor  Importing  Mexican  boys  to  Denver  for 

sex.  Indeed,  tin-  eases  are  main,  the  ahuse  horritie — and 
the  profit,  tor  the  tew  and  the  lieree.  ean  lx'  tremendous. 
In  response,  some  activists,  like  Ann  |ordan  ol  the  I  )(  - 
based  International  Human  Rights  Law  Group,  are  creat- 
ing their  own  global  network.  |ordan  has  helped  dralt  a 
UN  protocol  on  anti-trafficking  legislation  and  notes 
that  the  guidelines  are  not  only  applicable  in  trafficking 
hotspots  like  (  ambodia  or  Bosnia:  "I  have  been  usinn 
the  protocol  to  lobby  tor  legislation  here  in  the  U.S." 

The  Perfect  Crime? 

In  away,  sia\er\  is  the  perfect  crime.  Masters  take  advan- 
tage ot  poor,  uneducated  victims  who  .ire  typically  part 
ot  the  underclass— and  who  find  themselves  in  a  strange 
new  land  where  they  cannot  communicate.  I  he  victim's 
Inability  to  speak  out  ensures  virtual  impunity. 

i  onsequentiy,  combating  contemporar)  slavery  cm 
seem  overwhelming.  As  the  (  IA  report  notes:  "Uncover- 
ing, Investigating,  and  prosecuting...  cases  while  pro- 
tecting, assisting,  and  repatriating  trafficking  victims  is  a 
complicated  and  resource-intensive  task."  ( >t  course,  the 

mere  tact  that  the-  <  I A  has  issued  a  report  on  trafficking 

indicates  significant  progress.  As  Kevin  Hales  notes, 

"Now  even  the  <  I  \  has  a  figure  tor  the  prohlem." 

one  government  official  cites  the  1995  Beijing  <  on- 

Icrcnce  on  Women  as  a  turning  point,  at  least  on  the 

issue  ot  trafficking  In  women.  "In  Beijing,  the  world  saw 
anti-traffk  kmx  measures  i  hamptoned  t>\  strong  women 

leaders  like  Millars  (  hnton  and  Madeleine  Albright  Mils 

sent  a  message."  More  i  ynkally,  the  official  suggests  thai 

the  rise  m  I  astern  I  uropean  victims  may  have  played  a 
part  as  well.  "Suddenly  you  had  large  numbers  of  white 
women    being   Caughl    up   In   what    had   once-   been 


If  you  suspect  a 
case  of  involuntary 
servitude... 


Both  activists  and  law  enforcement  officials 
agree  that  the  public  should  be  on  the  alert  for 
cases  of  slavery.  But  what  to  do  in  response 
remains  a  subject  of  dispute.  While  FBI  officials 
encourage  citizens  to  "call  the  local  police,"  a 
human  rights  activist  insists,  "Don't  call  the 
local  police."  On  the  bright  side,  the  public  has 
an  increasing  number  of  resources  at  its 
disposal.  Below  are  several  good  avenues 
citizens  can  pursue: 

■  The  toll-free  National  Worker  Exploitation 
Hotline  (1-888-428-7581).  Department  of 
Justice  staffers  are  available  from  9  to  5  EST. 
Calls  are  confidential,  and  all  tips  that  come 
in  are  referred  to  attorneys  in  the  Civil  Rights 
Division. 


The  Campaign  for  Migrant  Domestic 
Workers  Rights  (202-234-9382  x244).  |oy 
Zarembka  can  help  with  translators  and 
housing,  particularly  in  the  DC  area  and 
Northeast. 

The  Coalition  to  Abolish  Slavery  and 
Trafficking  (21 3-473-161 1).  Jennifer  Stanger 
and  her  colleagues  can  provide  direct 
support  (including  shelter),  most  easily  for 
cases  in  Southern  California. 

The  American  Anti-Slavery  Group  (1  -800- 
884-0719).  The  toll-free  line  is  open  from  8 
to  7  EST,  and  staffers  speak  Arabic,  Spanish, 
French,  and  German.  We  primarily  provide 
general  advice  and  referrals  to  appropriate 
law  enforcement  and  local  aid  groups. 


I  all  2000  /  Civil 


perceived  as  a  primaril)  Vslan  phenomenon  "  Moreover, 
the  new  traffickers    Russian  gangsters,  foi  Instance 

were  also  white. 

On  the  domesth  front,  the  Laboi  and  [ustlce  Depart- 
ments unveiled  .1  new  Initiative  .ig.iinst  employraenl 
abuse  In  April  <>i  1998  i>\  forming  the  National  Worker 
Exploitation  task  lone.  \  coalition  <>i  various  govern 
menl  offices,  the  Task  Force  recently  opened  a  toll-free 
hotline  lor  reporting  rases  of  labor  abuse,  Including 
Involuntary  servitude.  Alter  a  prominenl  feature  on 
domestic  slavery  in  a  February  2000  issue  of  Parade 
magazine,  the  hotline  received  500 calls  in  a  four-month 
span,  though  operators  admit  that  calls  have  slowed 
since  June  to  only  several  calls  per  week. 


Successful  prosec  ulion  and  humane  tn-.itm.  n< 

iii  the  ensuing  publicity,  more  and  more  <as«s  kepi 
coming  to  the  local  1 '  s  Attorney  s  office,  whk  h  ( ontin- 
ued  to  rely  on  communfc)  groups.  lb  meet  the  growing 
demand  foi  a  victim  support  project,  CAS1  wis  formed 
Housed  m  LA's  Little  Ibkyo  s<mi.iI  Scr-.  with 

"two    desks,    two    phones,    and    access    to    a    coffee 

machine"  <  \si  Is  a  community  care  network  that  pro- 
vides 1  ulturally-  and  linguisticalh  -appropriate  (  are  to  vic- 
tims  through  a  coalition  of  ethnic  service  providers.  With 

1  haJ  "i  lients,"  lor  Instance,  <  AS1  turns  to  the  1  hal '  om- 
munity  Development  (.enter,   Ihai  doctors  and  mental 
health  counselors,  and  Ihai-spcaking  legal  services. 
CAST  maintains  a  primarily  Asian  focus,  and  currently 
assists      15     survivors, 
ranging  in  age  from  two 
to  61.  As  a  sign  of  how 
limited      non-govern- 
mental   resources    are. 
CAST  remains  the  only 
mandated  direct  service 
provider  to  victims  of 
slavery  in  the  U.S. 


NTAL  IN      , 
,  AVIL  SOCIETY 


NT  THIS 


Calls  to  the  hotline  are  quickly  passed  on  to  attorneys 
working  in  the  Civil  Rights  Division  of  the  Department  of 
Justice  (DOJ).  Yet  while  DOJ  officials  state  that  they  have 
prosecuted  dozens  of  cases  in  the  last  few  years,  the  CIA 
report  notes:  "State  and  local  law  enforcement  officials 
appear  to  have  only  scratched  the  surface  of  the  problem." 

DOJ  officials  stress  that  they  have  significant  man- 
power available,  with  40  attorneys  in  Civil  Rights  Divi- 
sion bolstered  by  U.S.  District  Attorneys'  offices  in  94 
locations  across  the  country.  Still,  the  CIA  report  cites 
several  operational  deficiencies  in  the  DOJ's  response 
structure:  "Even  within  the  DOJ,  information  is  not 
always  shared  among  the  concerned  offices...  Many  FBI 
agents  say  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  formally 
write-up  the  cases...  Furthermore,  there  is  no  one  central 
repository  of  all  the  trafficking  in  women  and  children 
cases  within  the  United  States." 

Even  when  they  can  investigate,  Federal  prosecutors 
face  several  daunting  challenges.  Officials  note  that  the 
crime  typically  occurs  "behind  closed  doors,"  as  lan- 
guage and  cultural  barriers  isolate  the  victims.  To  infil- 
trate ethnic  crime  groups,  some  officials  say  more  ethnic 
Chinese  and  Spanish-speaking  agents  are  needed.  They 
cite  the  sweatshop  in  El  Monte,  where  a  Thai-speaking 
agent  helped  break  the  case. 

El  Monte  also  suggested  new  ways  in  which  govern- 
ment and  civic  groups  could  work  together  against  slavery. 
According  to  Jennifer  Stanger,  Media  and  Advocacy  Direc- 
tor of  the  LA-based  Coalition  to  Abolish  Slavery  and  Traf- 
ficking (CAST):  "El  Monte  became  a  model  of  how  gov- 
ernment and  community  groups  could  cooperate  for 


Problems  Stopping  Traffic 

At  the  center  of  new  anti-slavery  efforts  is  revising  the 
legal  definition  of  coercion  vital  to  proving  involuntary 
servitude.  In  the  1988  landmark  case  of  U.S.  v.  Kozmiiiski. 
the  Supreme  Court  ruled  that  only  the  use  of  force  or 
legal  coercion  can  give  rise  to  involuntary  servitude. 
Consequently,  prosecutors  are  often  reluctant  to  pursue 
cases  that  might  not  meet  these  strict  standards. 

But  as  experts  note,  masters  rely  on  psychological 
coercion.  Vulnerable  victims  in  foreign  communities  are 
dependent  on  traffickers,  who  rarely  need  to  use  force. 
Justice  officials  state  that  they  are  eager  to  expand  what 
they  call  "the  Kozminski  standard"  to  include  "non-vio- 
lent" coercion  (others  use  the  term  "psychological"): 
"We  would  like  to  bring  cases  involving  fraud,  deceit, 
isolation,  threats  to  family  members,  and  more." 

Congressional  leaders  have  recently  begun  to  address 
these  concerns.  In  the  last  few  months,  the  House  and 
Senate  both  passed  new  anti-trafficking  legislation, 
which  is  now  in  conference.  Not  only  does  Senate  Bill 
3244  earmark  S94.5  million  over  two  years  for  an  inter- 
agency taskforce  on  global  trafficking,  but  it  would  pun- 
ish those  who  use  psychological  force  to  hold  a  person 
against  his  or  her  will. 

Yet  while  the  legislation's  expanded  definition  of  coer- 
cion should  aid  prosecutors,  activists  are  dismayed  that 
key  provisions  for  victims  were  stripped  in  committee 
sessions.  Ann  Jordan  sees  increased  tools  for  prosecutors 
but  notes  that  "the  bill  no  longer  focuses  on  protecting 
victims,  which  was  the  concern  of  the  original  drafters. 


10     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


\  n.  tuns  who  tear  lor  their  own  well-being  will  find  little 
protection  or  Incentive  to  cooperate." 

[ordan  notes  thai  the  bill  allows  the  government  to 
talk  to  witnesses  without  having  to  grant  \  isas.  in  addi- 
tion, victims  have  no  Federal  right  to  a  civil  claim,  can- 
no!  sue  tor  assets,  and  can  he  deported  and  even  c  harmed 

tor  crimes  committed  while  trafficked  dike  carrv  ing  raise 
documents).  "How  can  someone  who  knows  nothing 
about  a  foreign  government  agree  to  cooperate  If  the) 

think  their  lamilv  is  at  risk'  Anyone  who  has  a  real  tear 

ot  retaliation  should  receive  a  visa  to  staj  here." 

(  \si  s  knniter  Stangei  also  voices  concerns  aboul  the 
revised  legislation.  "Without  victim  protections,  you 
wont  see  people  coming  forward.  Unless  the  conference 

committee  turns  this  around,  this  is  by  no  means  the 
best  hill  we  could  see." 

Not-So-Hotline 

Activists  also  express  concern  that  DOJ  Initiatives  are 

themselves  less  than  ideal.  One  notes  that  the  exploita- 
tion hotline  is  not  the  hest  resource."  Only  available 
from  9  to  5  EST,  hotline  staffers  speak  |usl  English,  Span- 
ish, and  Mandarin  (though  operators  can  connect  to  AIT 
interpreters  at  anytime).  Outside  working  hours,  there  is 
a  message  in  three  languages. 

It  is  also  not  clear  whether  the  Department  knows 
exacti]  how  to  handle  reports  ot  servitude.  "The  govern- 
ment asked  me  whom  to  refer  people  to,  hut  I  had  no 
better  idea,"  remarks  Ann  lordan.  "Because  Of  limited 
funding,  there  are  only  a  few  organizations,  mostly  in 
major  cities.  There's  hardly  anybody  there  to  address 
hotline  calls  except  prosecutors  who  want  to  prosecute." 

On  Sunday,  typically  the  best  time  to  call  for  domes- 
tic slaves,  one  can  only  leave  a  message.  "What  are  you 
supposed  to  saj  it  you  are  a  vi<  dm?"  asks  foy  Zaiembka. 
"'<  all  my  abuser  and  ask  tor  me!?'"  Other  activists  note 
that  the  lask  Force,  Which  handles  the  hotline,  was  cre- 
ated by  \ttornc\  General  |anet  Reno  with  no  funding 
behind  it. 

Beyond  the  limited  resources  ot  the-  lask  Force, 
activists  otteii  leel  that  working  with  government  is 
often  .1  "one-waj  street."  As  \nn  lordan  laments:  "NG<  >s 

should  not  have  to  spend  their  time  developing  rela- 
tionships with  government.  Government  should  be 
developing  its  own  protocols  that  \(  ii  )s  work  within." 

I'am  Shittman,  co-l  xecutive  Director  ot  the  women's 
rights  .uroiip  I  qualitv    Now,  describes  a  frustrating  gap 

between  c ivii  organizations  and  law  enforcement.  "<  >th- 

cials  at  the  I  HI  and  Department  o|  lustice  have  been 
responsive'  to  eases."  Miillman  notes.  "Hut  thev  cannot 
tell  us  what  specilie  ae  tion  thev  are-  taking  in  response  As 
a  result,  it's  hard  to  know  whether  to  press  them  to  do 
more." 

While  encouraged  bv  government's  stated  commit- 
ment to  the  issue,  |ov  /areiiibka  mentions  that  cases  are 


not  always  coordinated  Well.  She  cites  the  case  ot  an 
Ivor)  (  oast  woman  who  had  previously  been  antago- 
nized by  police,  and  been  told  by  her  master  that  police 
were  dangerous.  I  he  woman  was  terriheel  ot  anyone  in 
Uniform,  even  parking  attendants.  "Due  to  iiiiscoinmii 
nication  between  lustice,  the  local  police,  and  us,  the' 
police  went  in  and  botched  the  situation,"  /aiembka 
recalls.  Only  after  dragging  the  hvstc-rieal  victim  down  to 
the  station,  where  no  one  spoke  Trench,  did  police  call 

campaign  sutlers,  "it  there's  not  coordination,"  Zaiem- 
bka obseives,  "you  risk  putting  the-  victim  through  even 

more  trauma." 

(  \s  i  \  [ennifei  Stanger argues  that  the  Lie  k  ot  coordi- 
nation with  service  providers  can  end  up  hurting  the 

prosecution's  ease,  "law  enforcement  is  so  toe  used  on 
prosecution,  but  thev  need  to  take  a  step  back  and  look 
at  how  they  can  work  with  community  agencies  to  assist 
victims  who  serve  as  witnesses."  She  cites  the  recent  Lit- 
tle Rock  trial  of  former  NTH  -affiliate-owner  David  Jewell 
Jones  who  was  accused  of  importing  two  Chinese 
women  as  sexual  slaves.  After  the  two  women  perjured 
themselves  on  the  stand,  the  case  ended  in  a  mistrial. 

"These  women  were  sexually  abused,  transported 
against  their  will,"  complains  Stanger.  "But  thev  had  no 
advocates  to  work  with  them,  and  no  community 
groups  to  help  them  prepare  tor  court.  They  got  up  and 
perjured  themselves,  not  on  purpose,  but  because  there 
was  nobody  working  with  the  victims  to  prepare  them 
for  trial.  Now  the  women  will  likely  be  deported." 

A  Call  to  Action 

( >ne  fundamental  course  of  action  is  needed  to  respond 
to  the  disturbing  rise  in  domestic  slavery:  America  must 
once  again  declare  slavery  a  vital  civil  rights  issue  I  hat 
means  that  the  great  institutions  ot  its  democracy — from 
the  press,  to  civil  rights  organizations,  to  faith-based 
groups— should  do  their  part  to  bring  abolition  to  the 
forefronl  ot  the  nation's  political  agenda. 

I  he  American  civil  rights  movement  is  remarkable  lor 
its  creativitv  and  persistence.  Over  the  decades,  the 
movement  developed  an  innovative  set  o|  tools  to  flghl 
social  injustice,  acting  as  a  powerful  antibiotic  to  the  les- 
tering  ot  hate  and  Institutionalized  Inequality.  Nonvio- 
lent c ivii  disobedience,  c reativc  legal  argumentation,  and 
strategic  coalition  building,  for  instance,  all  proved 
invaluable  in  the  tight  against  Jim  (  tow 

Human  bondage  is  arguablj  the  worst  civil  rights 
violation  occurring  today  in  the-  U.S. — and  we  must 
respond  with  similarlv  creative  measures,  lust  as 
Amnesty  International  campaigns  to  free  prisoners  ol 
conse  ience,  we  now  need  to  stand  up  lor  "prisoners  ot 

commerce/1  i  hat  is  what  vie  tuns  ot  contemporary  slav- 
er) aie.  I  hough  not  intellectuals  dike  the  human 
Community)  who  live-  hv   and  sutler  tor  their  I 


I. ill  2000       I  iv  .1  I'- 


ll 


CROSSING 

™ELINE 


Bulked  Up  Border  Patrols 
Are   Not  Having  Any 
Impact  on  the  Number  of 
Unauthorized  Immigrants 
Is  It  Time  to  Reconsider? 


by  Karen  Hastings 


12     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


In  South  Texas  this  summer,  U.S.  Border  Patrol  officials 
celebrated  the  three-year  anniversary  ol  Operation  Rio 
Grande,  the  latest  incarnation  ol  tin-  is.  government's 
$700  million-a-yeai  campaign  to  control  illegal  immigra- 
tion across  the  2,000-mile  border  with  Mexico.  Local  offi- 
cials bom  booming  border  communities  praised  Opera- 
don  Rio  Grande's  success  in  lowering  the  crime  rate  and 
increasing  public  safety.  Similar  enthusiasm  i>m  be  beard 
from  San  Diego,  (  alifornia,  to  Brownsville,  lex. is.  from 
mayors,  police  chiefs,  and  ordinarj  citizens  whocredil  the 
presence  of  thousands  ol  newly  hired  border  agents,  plus 
millions  oi  dollars  in  high-tech  surveillance  equipment, 


fences  and  vehicles,  with  what  is  often  called  "a  bettei 
qualit)  ol  life"  In  these  border  towns. 

But  elsewhere  along  the  otten  unforgiving  U.S.-Mex- 
lco  dividing  line,  it  is  the  deaths  ol  hundreds  of 
migrants — not  the  quality  of  life — that  is  troubling  1 i\  U 
rights  d\\d  government  leaders.  Drownings  In  the  Rio 
Grande;  deaths  Erom  thirst  and  exposure  in  the  moun- 
tains ol  <  alifornia,  even  fatal  confrontations  with  frus- 
trated property  owners  in  the  desert  ranehland  ol  West 
Texas — incidents  like  these  are  increasingly  being  Laid  at 
the  feet  of  the  country's  border  initiative.  In  the  past 

\ear.  some  i4()  deaths  have  resulted  at  least  in  part  from 
the  increased  patrols,  which — in  targeting  urban  areas 
like  San  Diego,  ll  Paso  mk\  South  lexas — have  pushed 
illegal  immigration  into  new  and  more  dangerous  areas. 
Also  ol  concern  to  <.  i\  il  rights  groups:  the  impact  on  bor- 
der communities,  where  residents  complain  ol  Increas- 
ingly common  confrontations  with  Federal  border 
agents,  Even  those  happy  with  the  public  safety  results 
of  campaigns  like  Operation  Rio  Grande  in  South  Texas, 
Operation  Gatekeeper  in  California  and  Operation  Safe- 
guard in  Arizona  lament  the  transformation  of  once- 
relaxed  border  communities  into  "armed  camps." 

These  troubling  deaths  and  community  tensions 
corneas  researchers  question  the  over-all  effectiveness  of 
vigorous  border  enforcement  in  combating  illegal  immi- 
gration. Critics  question  whether  the  new  Border  I'atrol 
strategies  have  really  cut  the  How,  or  simply  diverted  it  to 
other  areas — at  considerable  human  cost.  Little  more 
than  half  of  today's  estimated  live  million  unauthorized 
immigrants  came  to  the  U.S.  via  illegal  border  crossings. 
The  other  half  are  visa  overstayers — students,  visitors, 
temporary  workers — who  enter  with  valid  \  isas  and 
become  "illegal"  when  their  vis.is  expire.  Michael  Fix, 
the  Director  ol  the  Immigration  Studies  Program  at  the 
I  Irban  Institute,  says  that  the  |UIJ  is  Still  out  on  the  oxer- 
all  impact  ol  the  border  patrol  effort  on  the  total  number 
ol  unauthorized  immigrants.  But,  he  savs,  die  effects 
appear  to  be  relatively  marginal.  "Not  onlv  does  it  seem 
that  there  has  not  been  a  decline  in  the  How.  there  could 
well  have  been  a  parallel  and  unintended  increase  in  the 
stoi  k.  that  is,  the  number  ol  people  who  elect  to  stay  in 
the  U.S.  once  they  are  here." 

And  even  it  the  pohues  were  effective  m  their  stated 

goal  ol  Significant!)  reducing  illegal  immigration,  some 
question  whether  the  human  COSl  would  |UStif)  the 
results.  In  a  1999  report,  "Death  On  I  he  Border,"  1  in 
versit)  Ol  Houston  reseaa hers  ask  whether  policy  mak- 
ers have  adequately  considered  these  costs:  "How  main 
migrant  deaths  .ue  acceptable  to  the  i  Inited  st.ites  in  its 
quest  to  enforce  its  borders.'  Do  the  local  successes  oi 
strict  border  enforcement  iustify  the  mortality  bill?" 

bu  .1  growing  number  ol  observers,  the  answer  is  no. 

••  I  here  is  no  absolute  right  to  control  the  border;  it  has  to 
be  harmonized  with  the  right  to  life,  with  human  rights," 
s.i\s(  laudia  Smith  of  the  <  alifornia  Rural  Legal  Vssistance 


l.ill  2000     i  Ivil  1 1 


Foundation.  "Youcan'1  come  up  with  a  strategy  thai  max 
imizes  the  1 1 sk  to  life  .uhI  i-i isi i n-s  t li.it  hundreds  ol 
migrants  die." 

Meanwhile,  s.iv  resean  hers  from  die  Washington,  I » I 
based  <  entei  t » > r  [mmigration  si mlics,  lagging  Inti  rioi 
enforcement  tells  desperate  would  be  Immigrants  thai 
crossing  the  border  is  their  only  obstacle. 

"What  draws  migration  to  the  U.S.  is  the  lure  ol  jobs 
because  our  economy  is  the  envy  ol  the  world.  [Tie 
message  that  is  being  sent  is,  ii 
you  (.in  avoid  the  Border  Patrol, 
you're  pretty  much  scot-free," 
says  rescue  her  |ohn  Keeley  ol 
the  (  enter.  "It's  almost  <is  it  (the 
border  build-up)  is  just  window 
dressing  in  the  absence  ol 
addressing  more  fundamental 
problems  with  U.S.  immigration 
policy." 

Bulking  Up 

The  current  U.S.  campaign  to 
strengthen  the  southwest  border 
got  its  start  in  1993  with  Opera- 
tion Hold  The  Line  in  F.l  Paso, 
Texas,  which  used  fences  and 
strategically  placed  Border  Patrol 
agents  to  move  illegal  migration 
out  of  the  downtown  area  and 
into  areas  where  such  traffic 
would  be  more  difficult  to  con- 
ceal. Success  from  that  program 
led  to  Operation  Gatekeeper  in 
San  Diego  and  Operation  Safe- 
guard in  Arizona,  both  in  1994, 
and  most  recently  to  Operation 
Rio  Grande  in  1997.  These  oper- 
ations have  doubled  the  number 

of  agents  stationed  along  the  southwest  border,  to  a  total  of 
some  8,400  today.  In  some  sectors,  the  number  of  agents 
has  tripled  or  even  quadmpled. 

The  local  impact  of  these  various  campaigns,  as 
reported  by  the  INS,  has  been  impressive.  Officials  note 
that  illegal  immigration  in  the  San  Diego  and  El  Paso 
areas,  which  once  represented  70  percent  of  all  border 
crossings,  remains  at  historically  low  levels.  In 
Brownsville,  Texas,  where  the  Border  Patrol  guards  25 
miles  of  the  Rio  Grande  between  this  community  of 
roughly  100,000  and  its  larger  Mexican  sister  city  of 
Matamoros,  agents  predict  they  soon  will  see  days  with 
zero  apprehensions.  That  compares  with  previous  peaks 
as  high  as  300  per  day,  and  is  cited  as  proof  that  this 
strategy  of  deterrence  is  working. 

"I  would  just  invite  (critics)  to  look  at  the  border  that 
existed  before  there  was  a  policy  of  deterrence  instead  of  a 


Border  Patrol  Officer  in  special  night  vision 
helmet. 


poli<  v  ol  apprehension  and  cl  US    Rep 

Syfvestre  Reyes,  who  was  .i  Bordei  Patrol  <  Kiel  In  1 1  Paso 
before  bis  elo  don  to  <  ongress.  "<  ommunities  thai  live 
along  the  bordei  want,  and  should  have,  an  expo  tation  oi 
the  same  quality  of  life  thai  every  other  community  has." 
in  Brownsville  al  least,  Mayor  Blanca  .  "At 

tirst,  people  were  saying,  They're  bombarding  us  with 
those  agents  and  their  lord  I  up 
ened/"  says  Vela.  "Now  thai  (the  agents)  have  been  I 

couple  oi  years,  th<-  people  in  the  com- 
munity .ire  saying,  'We  feel  s.iirr.'  Some- 
|  tiling  is  happening  where  we  don't  have 
I  as  much  crime." 

A  Grim  Harvest 

But  such  successes  have  come  with  con- 
siderable cost  in  human  lives,  as  migra- 
tion moved  from  heavily  patrolled  areas 
to  remote  stretches  of  desert,  mountain 
and  brush.  Through  eleven  months  of 
the  fiscal  year  2000,  340  migrants  died 
on  the  border,  already  a  47  percent 
increase  over  the  previous  year.  Migrants 
are  dying  of  exposure  in  treacherous  ter- 
rain, in  confrontations  with  angry  prop- 
erty owners,  in  the  swift  currents  of  the 
Rio  Grande  or  the  Ail-American  Canal. 
Local  officials  frequently  are  forced  to 


DROWNINGS  in  the  Rio  Grande;  deaths  from 
thirst  and  exposure  in  the  mountains  of  california, 
even  fatal  confrontations  with  frustrated 
property  owners  in  the  desert  ranchland  of  west 
Texas — incidents  like  these  are 
increasingly  being  laid  at  the  feet 
of  the  country's  border  initiative. 

bury  unidentified  bodies  in  pauper  graves. 

The  deadliest  state  of  all  this  year  was  Arizona,  where 
migrants  pushed  from  easier  crossing  points  in  Califor- 
nia and  Texas  have  increasingly  chosen  to  attempt  entry 
across  inhospitable  lands  with  names  like  Camino  Del 
Diablo  (Devil's  Highway).  The  eastern  California  border, 
with  similarly  unfriendly  terrain,  also  saw  its  share  of 
deaths  this  year.  Between  1999  and  2000,  the  total 
number  of  migrant  deaths  from  heat  exposure  alone 
more  than  doubled,  to  109  through  the  first  eleven 
months  of  FY  2000. 


14     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Uong  with  deaths,  investigators  savs  the  squeeze  also 
registers  in  the  fees  charged  i>\  "coyotes,™  which  have 
risen  along  the  border  from  1250  to  .is  nun  h  .is  1 1 ,500, 
and  in  increased  levels  ot  violence  by  these  gun-toting 
alien  smugglers. 

in  thru  "Death  On  ["he  Border*  report,  researchers 
from  the  Universit)  ol  Houston's  c  enter  tor  immigra- 
tion Research  documenl  more  than  1,600  possible 
migrant  deaths  along  the  southwest  border  between 
1993  and  1997.  [hej  assert  thai  debate  on  U.S.  border 
policies  lias  general!)  ignored  the  human  costs  as  evi- 
denced b)  the  difficulty  the)  had  in  even  counting 

migrant  deaths. 

"I  think  the  plan  was... to  drive  people  into  difficult 
areas  so  the)  would  turn  back,''  says  Prof.  Nestor 
Rodriguez,  who  co-authored  the  report.  "I  don't  know  if 
it  was  naive,  but  the)  could  have  jusl  read  the  literature. 
I  he\  would  have  understood  that  these  people  would 

not  turn  ba<  k    1  hese  are  not  middle  c  lass  people  with  six 

good  job  options  and  working  in  a  restaurant  in  Tucson 
is  just  one  ol  them.  These  are  people  who  think  they 
naveonl)  one  option    to  come  north." 

Many  migrants  rights  groups  say  the  miscalculation 
was  deliberate.  "They  anticipated  death.  I  don't  think 
they  anticipated  this  many  deaths,"  says  (  laudia  Smith 
ol  the  (  alifornia  Rural  legal  Assistance  Foundation. 
"  I  hey  realized  a  lot  of  people  were  not  going  to  give  up." 

Immigration  officials  bristle  at  allegations  ol  indiffer- 
ence. I  he)  sa)  blame  should  be  directed  at  alien  smug- 
glers, who  often  mislead  then  "clients"  about  the  ratal 

dangers  ahead.  Smugglers,  they  contend,  routinely  send 
migrants  to  their  deaths  with  incorreit  information  and 
insuttu  lent  supplies  Ol  tood  and  water,  and  readily  aban- 
don them  when  injured  or  unable  to  keep  up. 

"We  .nit u  ipated  and  prepared  to  adapt  to  shifts  in  the 
border  crossing  patterns  that  smugglers  had  traditionally 
used.  Bui  we  did  not  believe  they  would  subject  migrants 
to  the  terrible  dangers  ot  the  most  perilous  places  on  the 

border,*'  INS  (  ommissioner  Doris  Meissner  wrote  in  an 
August  editorial  m  the  Arizona  Republu  newspaper. 

Border  I'atrol  Deputy  (  hiel  Mike  Niciey  says  smug- 
glers are  "in  it  to  make  a  buck,''  while  agents  routinely 
Shift  from  enforcement  to  rescue  when  people  are  in 
trouble,  lie  insists  that  "the  Border  I'atrol  is  a  friendly 
tace  out  there  when  people  are  m  distress,"  and  points 
out  that,  in  some  respec  ts  at  least,  the  patrols  have  made 
the  borders  safer— for  example,  by  chasing  ofl  bolder 
bandits  who  used  to  prev  on  immigrants. 

Border  I'atrol  otlicials  have  also  rcae  ted  to  the  inc  Teas- 
ing number  ot  deaths  with  a  Border  Safety  Initiative. 
launched  in  |une  L998.  Along  with  (  PR  and  tirst-aid 
courses,  agents  who  patrol  near  water  are  rceciv  nig  switt 
water  rescue  training.  Signs  posted  at  loc.it ions  along  tile 
RiO  dr. Hide  warn  ol  part  u  ularh  dangeious  ciments, 
while  signs  and  lighting  along  the  \ll-  \nieiic.in  <  anal  in 
southeastern  (  all  tori  ua  were  also  erected  to  stem  a  high 


number  ot  drownings  there.  In  the  II  (  entio  area  ot 

southeastern  i  alifornia,  Border  I'atrol  officials  s.i\  the) 

cut  migrant  drownings  by  <4  percent  ova  two  \e.irs  b) 
erecting  lights  mm.\  barriers,  and  by  using  specially 
trained  patrols  in  all-terrain  vehicles. 

Media  campaigns  warning  about  the  dangers  ot  deal- 
ing with  alien  smugglers — complete  with  tilm  clips  ot 
dvM\  bodies  discovered  ill  the  desert  —  have  been  aired  in 

i  oi  iperation  with  Mexi<  an  authorities,  Border  I'atrol  offi- 
cials Say.  And  where  once  icsearchers  were  unable  to 
determine  how  main  migrants  were-  dving  in  their  trek 
to  the  United  States,  the  Border  I'atrol  now  tiacks 
migrant  deaths  and  rescues  by  location  and  cause — from 
vehicle  accidents  (33  so  Ian  to  honiic  ides  i  In  so  tar  in  FY 
20(H)). 

INS  Officials  insist  that  when  its  \anous  o|  )erat  ions  are 
fully  in  place  deaths  as  well  as  illegal  immigration  will 
dec  ic.ise  I  1011 1  di\  i rig  into  t he  Rio  ( i ramie  near  I  areclo. 
to  hunting  through  the  deserts  ot  Arizona  b)  air  and  on 
loot,  Border  Patrol  agents  sa)  they  have  rescued  almost 
2,200  migrants  in  the  tirst  1  1  months  of  fiscal  year  2000 
I  hat's  up  I  roil  i  1,041  people'  rescued  in  hsc.il  vear  1999. 
"  I  he  sane  tion  tor  entering  the  U.S.  illegally  should  not 
be  death,"  Deputy  (  hiel  Niciey  affirmed  in  a  recent 
interview. 

Tension  Mounts 

Yet  community  tensions  over  the  Border  I'atrol  build-up, 
and  the  changes  in  migration  patterns  that  are  sending 
waves  ot  immigrants  into  new  e  rossing  areas,  have  swelled 
the  death  count  in  an  equally  troubling  way.  In  a  spate  ot 
much-publicized  "vigilante"  incidents  in  Texas  j\k\  Ari- 
zona, a  tew  property  owners  are  taking  up  guns  against  the 
people  they  sav  are  trampling  their  fences,  stealing  their 
tood,  .ind  trashing  their  property. 

In  Texas,  a  Kinney  (  ounty  man,  Samuel  Blac  kwood,  is 
under  indictment  in  the-  May  2000  shooting  death  ot 
I  USebiO  de  ll.no,  2.-!,  who  bled  to  death  alter  he  was  shot 
in  the  back  ot  the  leg.  A  survivor  ot  the  incident  near 
Brackettville  claims  the  confrontation  began  when  a 
small  group  of  undocumented  immigrants  came  on 
Blackwood's  property  te»ask  tor  water,  sav  s  District  Attor- 

ney  Ibm  Lee. 

Ice  reports  the  shooting  was  the  fourth  this  year 
involving  a  Mexican  citi/en  and  a  property  owner. 
Downed  leiic es,  trampled  hay  supplies,  water  left  run- 
ning, livestock  butchered  tor  tood  such  problems 
caused  bv  increased  illegal  migrant  traffic  in  the  area 
have  led  to  "a  great  deal  ot  trustration"  on  the  part  ot 
some  landowners,  the  district  attorney  savs. 

"As  long  as  I've  lived  out  here,  there's  nothing  in  the 
world  unusual  about  a  rancher  calling  the  Border  I'atrol 
When  they  see  a  large  group  ol  aliens,"  I  ee  said  "What  is 
unusual  is  a  rancher  taking  a  gun  and  shooting  some- 
body.  I  here  are  some  serious  pressures  involved  " 


Fall  2000  /  »  ivil  RJ  15 


While  Lee  advises  property  owners  agalnsl  meddling 
in  Immigration  and  law  enforcement  matters,  he  says 
he  has  heard  some  ask.  In  liaison  meetings  with  Bordei 
Patrol  officials,  it  thej  can  hold  migrants  .it  gunpoint 
mini  they  .in'  rounded  up  by  bordei  agents,  "I've  had 
people  express  the  sentlmenl  thai  it  they're  on  mj 
property  they  bettei  watch  theli  reai  end  'cause  it's 
going  to  be  shot  off,"  says  i  ee. 

Up  the  border  In  Arizona,  rancher  Roger  Barnetl  oi 
Douglas  lias  become  a  vocal  symbol  ol  the  frustration 
that  has  gripped  many  property  owners  who  feel  then 
land  is  being  overrun.  Armed  with  a  handgun,  and 
chronicled  in  publications  from  Time  to  The  Washington 
Post,  Barnetl  lias  taken  to  rounding  up  immigrants  he 
finds  crossing  his  22,000-acre  ranch.  Barnett  claims  to 
have  arrested  as  many  as  3,000  of  what  he  calls  "crimi- 
nal trespassers"  in  the  past  two  and  a  half  years. 

"They're  not  just  poor  people  coming  across  to  work. 
They're  law  breakers.  They're  a  destructive  crowd  and 
I've  got  no  use  for  them,"  says  Barnett,  who  complains 
the  migrants  breach  his  fences  and  leave  behind  trash. 
"My  civil  rights  are  being  violated.  The  constitution 
requires  that  they  protect  me  from  invasion  but  the 
gosh  damn  government  is  not  doing  it.  I'm  not  kidnap- 
ping them.  They  need  to  stay  off  my  property.  Stay  the 
hell  off." 

Exasperated  Border  Patrol  officials  insist  Barnett's 
viewpoint  has  been  given  unwarranted  prominence  by 
the  national  media,  and  that  "less  than  a  handful"  of 
property  owners  have  taken  similar  action.  Still,  such 
incidents  have  led  to  at  least  one  lawsuit  in  Arizona, 
protests  by  the  Mexican  government,  and  complaints 
that  the  Border  Patrol  is  encouraging  Barnett  and  his 
followers  by  not  taking  a  harder  stand. 

In  U.S.  District  Court  in  Tucson,  Chihuahua,  Mexico, 
resident  Javier  Bencomo  Arreola  is  seeking  damages 
against  a  ranching  couple  in  Cochise  County,  Arizona. 
In  his  complaint,  Bencomo  Arreola  states  that  he  and 
others  were  in  the  company  of  a  "guide"in  April  1999, 
when  they  were  stopped  at  gunpoint  by  the  couple.  He 
also  complains  that  the  defendant's  wife  set  her  dog  on 
the  group,  one  of  whom  was  bitten.  When  the  group 
attempted  to  flee,  the  defendant  followed  in  his  pickup 
truck  and  held  them  at  gunpoint,  the  complaint  states. 

In  a  letter  this  summer  to  INS  Commissioner  Doris 
Meissner,  an  attorney  for  the  California  Rural  Legal 
Assistance  Foundation  called  such  "citizen's  arrests"  ille- 
gal in  themselves.  "It  is  fine  for  the  ranchers  to  be  the 
Border  Patrol's  eyes  and  ears,  but  they  should  not  be 
allowed  to  do  the  rest  of  the  Border  Patrol's  work,  i.e., 
stop,  question,  detain  or  arrest  for  violations  of  immi- 
gration laws,"  says  the  letter.  "If  the  trespassers  are  in 
custody  simply  because  they  are  believed  to  be  illegally 
in  the  U.S.,  the  ranchers  should  be  advised  that  there  is 
no  legal  basis  for  a  private  person  to  hold  them,  i.e., 
false  imprisonment  is  at  play." 


Border  Patrol  offli  lals  sa 
with  bordei  ram  hers  and  property  owners  b 
to  address  problems  and  calm  frustrations  befon 
est  alate  to  violent  e  In  .1  lettei  last  April,  the  <  hid  ol  the 
lucson  Bordei  Patrol  sectoi  advised  Barnetl  "In  taking 
siu  h  ,h  dons,  you  1  ould  potentiall)  b  .it  risk  ol  personal 
danger,  criminal  prosecution,  and/01  civil  suit  foi 
arrest  or  other  uvil  liabilities."   I  be  letter  warned  that 
Information  about  illegal  actions  "on  the  part  oi  an) 

party  involved"  would  be  forwarded  to  the  LLS.  Attor- 
ney's Office. 

Unintended  Impacts 

Even  in  calmer  border  communities  where  Border  Patrol 
operations  have  taken  hold,  civil  rights  groups  complain 
that  residents  are  paying  a  high  price  for  a  managed  bor- 
der. They  complain  that  residents — even  legal  ones — are 
increasingly  stopped,  questioned,  even  harassed  by  ever- 
more-visible Federal  agents.  While  the  Border  Patrol  says 
racial  profiling  is  not  used,  it  is  individuals  of  Mexican 
descent — from  Federal  judges  to  the  humblest  laborer — 
who  feel  the  pressure. 

U.S.  District  Judge  Filemon  Vela  was  upset  last  year 
when  he  was  stopped  by  border  agents  on  his  way  to  a 
court  session  in  Laredo.  Agents  told  him  his  vehicle 
looked  suspicious  because  it  carried  four  people — and 
might  therefore  be  smuggling  aliens.  Vela,  who  regularly 
rules  on  the  admissibility  of  evidence  recovered  in  law- 
enforcement  searches,  said  Border  Patrol  officials  prom- 
ised to  better  train  their  agents  to  guard  against  unjusti- 
fied stops. 

When  Judge  Vela  was  stopped  last  month  on  the  same 
highway,  he  was  told  the  problem  this  time  was  tinted 
windows.  Vela's  ruling:  Baloney.  "I  did  not  consider  the 
conduct  that  they  engaged  in  legal,"  said  the  judge,  who 
does  not  believe  his  ethnicity  was  a  factor.  Rather,  he 
thinks  that  random  and  unjustified  stops  are  becoming 
far  too  common.  "It  makes  you  wonder  whether  they  are 
really  interested  and  recognize  they  must  conform  their 
conduct  to  the  law.  You've  got  to  believe  that  it's  not  a 
coincidence  that  twice  in  one  year  they  stop  a  Federal 
judge  for  no  reason  at  all." 

Border  Patrol  officials  realize  they  have  a  problem, 
even  as  they  insist  their  officers  are  trained  to  make  stops 
only  with  legitimate  cause.  "Perception  is  reality,"  says 
Deputy  Chief  Mike  Nicky.  "We  can't  have  the  people 
perceiving  that  law  enforcement  people  are  stopping 
people  for  invalid  reasons." 

But  if  such  practices  anger  a  U.S.  District  Judge,  they 
strike  fear  in  humbler  individuals.  Most  victims  fear  ret- 
ribution if  they  complain,  says  Texas  attorney  Ray  Gill, 
project  director  for  the  South  Texas  Civil  Rights  Project. 
And,  Gill  adds,  the  courts  have  accepted  any  number  of 
"reasonable  suspicions"  for  stopping  people — from  time 
of  day  and  behavior  of  the  person  being  stopped,  to  the 


16     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


type  of  road  traveled. "  I  hat  could  be  a  road  going  north, 
south,  east,  west,  close  to  the  border,  away  from  the  bor- 
der, dirt  road,  four-lane  highway,  I  ven  though  it ...  maj 
very  well  be  a  random  stop,  once  the  officer  starts  bring- 
ing up  these  manufactured  excuses,  the  courts  have 
accepted  those  and  they  have  been  granted  immunity 
from  lawsuits,"  s.iui  Gill. 

Vlthough  the  courts  do  not  condone  mere  skin  color  as 
justification  tor  a  Bordei  Patrol  stop,  and  the  Border  Patrol 
denies  it  uses  racial  profiling,  it  still  occurs,  t.ill  said.  "The 


Border  patrol  arresting  unauthorized  Mexican  immigrants. 


Border  Patrol   is  not  going  to 

stop  an  Anglo  in  a  three-piece 

suit.  They're  not  going  to  stop 

an  Anglo  at  all.  I  [hey're  going 

to  stop)  someone  who  has 

dark  skin  and  looks  Mexican  and  has  poorer  looking 

clothes.  They'll  say  he  avoided  eye  contact  or  appeared 

suspicious." 

A  recent  case  from  Gill's  files  is  particularly  troubling. 
The  mother  of  22-year-old  Javier  Pelayo  has  filed  suit 
against  INS  and  the  Border  Patrol  in  Starr  County,  Texas. 
She  claims  her  mentally  disabled  son,  who  was  a  legal 
permanent  resident,  died  after  he  was  deported  by  Bor- 
der Patrol  agents. 

According  to  the  lawsuit,  Javier  was  stopped  in  April 
2(XX),  in  Roma,  Texas,  by  agents  who  didn't  believe  his 
claim  that  he  was  a  legal  resident  and  who  transported 
him  back  to  Mexico.  Mead)  two  weeks  later,  as  Olivia 
Pelayo  searched  desperately  tor  her  son,  and  after  he  had 
tried  unsuccessfully  to  reenter  the  United  States  at  a  legal 
U.S.  port  ot  entry,  his  body  was  (bund  in  the  Rio  Grande. 
He  had  drowned  trying  to  enter  the  U.S.  illegally. 

I  he  massive  build-up  adds  to  problems  people  ol 
Mexican  descent  have  experienced  on  the  border  for 
decades,  (,ill  said.  "A  lot  ol  these  (agents)  are  not  well 
trained,  [hey're  given  a  gun,  a  uniform,  a  vehicle  and 
lots  ot  authority  over  these  people  who  are  so  vulnerable. 

I  he  more  officers,  the  more  icivil  rights)  violations." 

The  problems  are  not  limited  to  the  border  itselt.  In  a 
new  report,  researchers  at  the  University  of  Houston 


While  the  border  patrol  says 

racial  profiling  is  not  used,  it 
is  individuals 
of  Mexican 
descent — from 


dc 'si  ribe  the  often  insidious  effects  of  this  new  border 
crackdown  on  immigrant  communities.  In  small  bordei 
towns  mk\  big  cities,  the  report  states,  main  immigrant 
families  arc  foregoing  medical  care  for  their  children, 
immunizations  against  disease,  and  other  government 
benefits  for  which  they  are  eligible.  "The  most  observable 
effect  is  withdrawal  from  services,  a  trend  that  will  In  the 
long  run  affect  the  well  being  of  everyone — citizens  and 
non-citizens  alike — in  these  communities,"  the  report 


The  report  documents  the  con- 
cerns ot  school  administrators  who 
fear  some  parents  may  not  register 
or  may  pull  students  from  school, 
fearing  deportation  "The  presence 
of  INS  has  become  more  visible  in 
mblic  spaces,  including  near 
schools.  This  is  especially  true  along 
the  border,  where  Border  Patrol 
agents  have  been  seen  patrolling 
near  school  grounds  when  school  is 
let  out  in  the  afternoon." 

The  report  concludes:  "The 
atmosphere  of  confusion  and 
uncertainty,  along  with  strength- 
ened enforcement,  has 
generated  anxiety,  fear 
and  mistrust  in  immi- 
grant communities." 

Ultimately,  however, 
the  issue  goes  beyond  the 
question  of  immigration 
itself  and  cuts  to  the  core 
of  what  it  means  to  live  in 
America.  While  he  sup- 
ports Border  Patrol  agents 
going  about  their  jobs, 
Douglas,  Arizona,  Mayor 
Ray  Borane  sums  up  the 
reservations  of  many 
local  officials  who  feel 
troubled  by  the  new  bor- 
der initiatives. 

"It  looks  like  an  Armv 
garrison  around  here.  It 
says  Borane,  whose  com- 


FEDERAL  JUDGES  TO 


THE   HUMBLEST 


LABORER — WHO 


FEEL   THE   PRESSURE. 


looks  like  a  militarized  /one 
munity  is  currently  being  overrun  by  thousands  of  illegal 
immigrants  forced  from  other  areas — and  by  scores  of 
new  Federal  agents  as  well. 

Until  lawmakers  address  the  underlving  reasons  tor  ille- 
gal immigration,  the  Border  Patrol  will  continue  fighting  "a 
losing  battle,"  he  said.  This  antiquated  poUq  perpetuates 

c  iv  il  rights  issues.  And  thev  re  going  to  get  WORM  D 

Kvrin  Bastings  is  v  mm  u*  i  iournausi  i  iving  in  the 

BORDER  i  OMMUNm  Ol  II  VKllNolN,  1 1  XAS. 


fall  2000      i  al     17 


The  BlaCk 

and  the 

With  Friends  Like 


Since  the  heyday  of  the  civil  rights  movement  in  the 
1960s,  the  public  has  viewed  the  elite  news  media  as  pro- 
ponents of  racial  equality  and  advocates  for  the  black 
poor.  Yet  the  stories  about  poverty  in  the  national  news 
media  do  not  reflect  this  expected  racial  liberalism.  On 
the  contrary,  news  coverage  of  the  poor  has  consistently 
distorted  black  poverty — portraying  it  more  negatively 
and  less  accurately  than  white  poverty.  Indeed,  over  the 
past  four  decades,  the  country's  elite  media  organizations 
have  offered  a  portrait  of  American  poverty  that  exagger- 
ates racial  differences  and  unfairly  associates  blacks  with 
the  least  attractive  subgroups  of  the  poor.  And  when  news 
stories  on  poverty  do  take  on  a  more  sympathetic  tone  (as 
they  tend  to  do  during  economic  downturns)  images  of 
the  black  poor  are  replaced  with  images  of  poor  whites. 

Why  have  the  American  media  portrayed  the  black 
poor  so  negatively,  and  with  what  consequences  for  Amer- 
ican society  and  politics?  To  answer  these  questions,  I 
examined  forty  years  of  news  stories  on  poverty.  I  found 
profound  changes  in  the  way  poor  people  were  portrayed 
across  this  period  of  time.  But  I  also  found  that  one  thing 
has  remained  consistent  over  the  years:  news  images  of 
poor  blacks  are  more  distorted,  more  derogatory,  and 
more  detrimental  in  their  impact  on  the  public's  percep- 
tions than  images  of  the  non-black  poor. 

The  Poor  in  the  News:  Image  and  Reality 
What  do  poor  people  look  like  in  the  news,  and  how  do 
these  images  compare  with  the  reality  of  poverty  in  Amer- 
ica? A  look  at  news  stories  from  the  late  1980s  and  early 
1990s  provides  a  start. 

First  off,  poor  people  in  the  news  have  a  very  dark  com- 
plexion indeed.  African  Americans  accounted  for  65 

18     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


percent  of  the  poor  people  shown  on  network  televison 
news  between  1988  and  1992.  Weekly  newsmagazines 
offered  the  same  view  of  America's  poor:  62  percent  of  the 
poor  people  shown  in  Time,  Newsweek,  and  U.S.  News  and 
World  Report  during  these  years  were  black. 

Although  these  images  correspond  with  the  public's 
perception  that  poverty  is  primarily  a  black  problem.  Un- 
reality is  quite  different.  According  to  the  U.S.  Census 
Bureau,  only  29  percent  of  poor  people  in  America  during 
this  period  were  black  (and  the  percentage  of  African 
Americans  among  the  poor  has  been  declining  slowly 
since  then). 

In  a  land  where  poverty  is  often  taken  as  a  sign  of  per- 
sonal failure,  the  media's  exaggerated  association  of  blacks 
and  the  poor  cannot  help  but  reinforce  old  stereotypes  of 
African  Americans  as  inadequate,  unmotivated,  and  mired 
in  poverty.  The  news  media  offers  the  public  a  portrait  of 
poverty  in  which  blacks  far  outnumber  non-blacks,  while 
in  reality  fewer  than  three  out  of  ten  poor  Americans  are 
black. 

Journalists'  reputation  as  political  liberals  is  well 
deserved.  Numerous  studies  have  shown  that  news  pro- 
fessionals— especially  those  employed  by  the  elite  media 
organizations — are  more  Democratic  in  their  voting  and 
more  supportive  of  liberal  social  policies  than  the  average 
American.  Perhaps,  then,  the  media's  disproportionate 
focus  on  black  poverty  arises  out  of  sympathetic  concern 
rather  than  disdain  for  poor  blacks.  Are  liberal  journalists 
consciously  or  subconsciously  trying  to  bring  the  plight  of 
the  black  poor  to  the  public's  attention? 

A  closer  look  at  the  content  of  stories  on  poverty  casts 
doubt  on  this  explanation  of  racial  distortions  in  poverty 
coverage.  Although  African  Americans  are  dramatically 


Poor 
liberal  Press 


// 


i ncsc  . .  in\ 


tt 


hi/tin  ( i ileus 


NEWS  coverage  of  the  poor  has  consistently 


overrepresented  in  poverty  sto- 
ries in  the  news,  the\  are  not 
equally  overrepresented 

among  all  groups  of  poor  peo- 
ple. In  news  stories  on  poverty; 
blacks  are  most  likely  to  be 

found  among  the  least  sympathetic  groups  ot  the  poor, 
while  whites  are  found  more  frequently  anions  the  most 
sympathetic  groups. 

One  example  of  a  clearly  deserving  subgroup  ot  the 
poor  is  the  working  poor,  [heir  willingness  to  work  shows 
that  their  poverty  is  not  a  result  of  Indolence,  and  that 
they  sh.ire  the  "middle  class"  commitment  to  selt-respon- 
sihility  and  self-support.  In  reality,  about  halt  ot  all  poor 
Americans  work  at  least  part  time.  The  public  would  be 
hard-pressed  to  learn  this  from  the  news,  howe\er:  only 

15  percent  ot  poor  people  in  the  major  newsmagazine 

poverty  stones  were  identified  as  employed. 

I  he  start  itv  ot  the  working  poor  in  news  coverage  has 
a  r.k  lal  bias  as  well.  In  reality,  poor  blacks  are  less  likely  to 
tx-  working  than  other  poor  people,  but  the  difference  is 

slight,  in  newsmagazine  stones,  however,  poor  non-blacks 
were  twice  as  likeh  to  be  shown  working  as  |x>or  bla<  ks  \ 
sympathetic  portrayal  ol  African  American  poverty? 
Hardly 

Another  sympathetic  group  among  lhep<x>r  are  the  eld- 
erly, who  are  not  expected  to  be  working.  (  tace  again,  it  is 

bard  to  find  tins  s\  mpathetii  group  in  news  stones.  \  mere 
two  percenl  <>t  |*>or  people  shown  in  newsmagazine  stones 
were  ova  64  years  old  (In  reality,  1 1  percenl  <>t  |x«>r  Amer- 
icans tall  into  this  age  group. I  And  once  again,  |xxir  blacks 
were  portrayed  more  negatively  and  less  accurately  than 
non-blacks.  Although  black  tans  predominated  among  the 


DISTORTED  BLACK  POVERTY — PORTRAYING  IT  MORE 
NEGATIVELY  AND  LESS  ACCURATELY  THAN  WHITE  POVERTY. 


working-age  |x>or,  less  than  one-fifth  of  older  jxx)r  (X'ople 
in  newsmagazines  were  black.  Once  they  reach  retirement 
age,  p<x)r  blacks  seem  to  disappear  from  the  news  even 
moie  completely  than  poor  whites. 

\iiu  an  Americans  were  scarce  in  news  [xirtrayals  ot  the 
working  poor  and  the  elderly  poor,  but  there  was  one 
group  of  |xxir  people  in  the  news  where  black  faces  were 
the  only  ones  to  be  found.  In  newsmagazine  sti  ines  ah  ml 
the  underclass  published  between  b'HH  and  1992,  ever) 
single  poor  person  pictured  was  African  American.  c >l  all 
the  subgroups  ol  the  |x>or,  the  underclass    assoc  lated  with 

crime,  drugs,  out-of-wedlock  births,  and  "welfare  as  .1  wa\ 
of  lite"  is  perhaps  the  least  sympathetic.  And  in  news 
accounts,  it  is  the  most  Mac  k. 

African  Americans  do,  of  course,  make  up  a  substantial 
portion  of  the  underclass.  Social  scientists  disagree  about 
how  to  define  the  linden  lass,  and  even  about  whether  it 
is  a  useful  concept  at  all.  But  no  matter  how  we  define  the 
undeu  lass    no  matter  what  combination  <>t  poverty 

"indicators"  we  pick — the  underc  lass  inc  hide's  substanti.il 
numbers  ot  non-blacks.  Indeed,  In  most  definitions, 
blacks  constitute  a  minority  of  tile  underclass.  Yet  the 
underclass  in  the  news     at  least  during  this  five-yeai 

[XTicxl    was  portrayed  as  ew  lusfvely  blac  k. 

i  hese  patterns  ot  media  coverage  are  not  wholly 
divorced  from  reality.  <  ompared  with  non-blac  ks.  African 
unericans an* disproportionately  found  aim  mg  the  under- 

Fall  2<mk)  /  c  ivil  I  ial     19 


«.  i.iss,  ,11  ul  blacks  are  slightly  underrepresented  among  the 

elderly  pooi  .mil  the  working  i c  the  real-life  racial  dii 

ferences  are  small,  however,  while  the  ra<  lal  differences  In 
news  Images  are  huge.  Readers  who  relied  on  these  maga 
zincs  lor  their  Information  aboul  the  American  pooi 
would  likely  believe  thai  there  are  few  bla(  k\  among  the 
working  poor  or  those  ol  retirement  age,  and  thai  African 
Americans  entirely  accounl  lor  America's  unden  i.iss.  I  he 
media's  demographic  misrepresentation  ol  the  American 
poor  reflects  negatively  on  the  poor  as  a  whole,  hut  it 
reflects  even  more  negatively  (ami  more  unfairly)  on  pom 
blacks. 

My  study  of  news  coverage  of  poverty  focuses  on  the 
pictures  of  poor  people  found  in  the  news.  Hut  news- 
magazines also  provide  factual  information  in  the  text  ol 
their  stories  that  might  help  to  offset  the  misleading 
impressions  created  by  pictures  of  the  poor.  I  lowever,  fac- 
tual information  about  the  racial  composition  of  the  poor 
(or  of  subgroups  of  the  poor)  is  quite  infrequent  in  news- 


By  MOST  definitions,  blacks  constitute  a  minority 

OF  THE  UNDERCLASS.  YET  THE  UNDERCLASS  IN  THE  NEWS 
WAS  PORTRAYED  AS  EXCLUSIVELY  BLACK. 


magazine  poverty  stories.  Across  a  thirty-year  period,  this 
kind  of  factual  information  appeared  in  fewer  than  one 
out  of  twenty  stories  on  poverty  in  the  three  magazines 
examined.  But  even  when  such  information  is  offered  to 
readers,  it  provides  a  very  weak  counterbalance  to  the 
steady  stream  of  pictures  that  portray  the  poor  as  pre- 
dominantly black.  Virtually  all  readers  will  look  at  the  pic- 
tures in  a  story  on  poverty,  but  many  will  only  skim  the 
text.  And  even  those  who  don't  read  a  particular  story  on 
poverty  are  likely  to  notice  the  pictures  of  the  poor  as  they 
leaf  through  the  magazine. 

The  Invisible  Black  Poor 

African  Americans  and  poverty  are  now  so  thoroughly 
entwined  that  it  is  sometimes  hard  to  imagine  that  this 
was  not  always  the  case.  But  for  most  of  American  history, 
public  debate  about  poverty  concerned  the  white  poor 
only.  True,  racial  distinctions  were  common  in  19th  cen- 
tury discussions  of  poverty,  but  these  were  distinctions 
among  the  various  white  European  "races"  such  as  the 
Irish,  Italians,  and  Poles.  This  early  poverty  literature  had 
little  or  nothing  to  say  about  blacks,  nor  did  the  leading 
sUidies  of  poverty  during  the  early  decades  of  the  20th 
century  pay  much  attention  to  poor  African  Americans. 

This  focus  on  poor  whites  was  still  apparent  in  news 
stories  published  during  the  1950s.  Poverty  was  not  a 
prominent  topic  in  Time,  Newsweek,  and  U.S.  Nnv\  and 


World  Report  during  tin1,  do  ade,  bul  those  stones  th.it  did 
appeal  were  Illustrated  overwhelming!)  with  images  of 
the  white  poor  |  television  news  shows  torn  tins  |*-rnxi 

are  not  available,  so  I  rely  exclusively  on  these  i 

magazines  to  gauge  the  media's  portrayal  of  the  poor.) 
\itei  the  devastation  oi  the  ( -re.it  i  depression,  p 

was  largely  forgotten  during  World  War  II  and  the  |>ost- 
War  recovery.  In  the  early  1960s,  however,  the  pool 
"rediscovered,"  and  president  Kenned]  made  the  flghi 
against  poverty  a  national  concern  once  again.  Net  the 

poverty  programs  ol  the  earl)  1960s  and  the  popular 
images  ol  the  poor  that  accompanied  them  were  |u 
pale  in  complexion  as  those  oi  the  turn  ol  the  c  entury.  It 
there  was  a  dominant  image  of  poverty  at  this  time,  my 
research  suggests  it  was  the  white  rural  poor  of  the 
Appalachian  coal  fields. 

Even  during  this  period  when  media  attention  was 
focused  on  white  poverty  there  were  some  news  stories 
that  featured  txx)r  blacks,  and  the  racial  patterns  i  >l  \» <\ ert\ 
coverage  were  the  same  then 
as  in  more  recent  years:  pic- 
tures of  hlacks  are  found  in 
stories  that  reflect  negatively 
on  the  j>cx>r  while  pictures  of 
whites  appear  in  neutral  or 
sympathetic  stories.  These 
early  images  of  black  poverty 
established  the  pattern  of 
unflattering  coverage  of  the  black  poor  in  the  news. 

Much  of  the  reporting  on  poverty  in  the  early  1960s 
focused  on  the  Kennedy  administration's  antipoverty  ini- 
tiatives. These  stories  tended  to  be  neutral  in  tone  and 
were  illustrated  almost  exclusively  with  poor  whites.  The 
other  major  focus  of  poverty  news  during  this  period  was 
on  welfare  abuse  and  the  controversial  "crackdown"  on 
welfare  by  Joseph  Mitchell,  the  city  manager  of  New- 
burgh,  New  York.  Mitchell  claimed  that  recent  black 
migrants  from  the  South  were  swelling  Newburgh's  public 
assistance  roles.  In  response,  he  instituted  a  13-point  pro- 
gram aimed  at  removing  as  many  people  from  welfare  as 
possible.  Not  surprisingly,  coverage  of  Newburgh  was  illus- 
trated with  pictures  of  blacks  (although  Newsweek  did 
point  out  that,  in  fact,  60  percent  of  relief  recipients  in 
Newburgh  were  white).  Black  faces  were  also  prominent  in 
a  series  of  stories  on  the  misuse  of  welfare,  sparked  by  Sen- 
ator Robert  Byrd's  1962  investigation  of  welfare  abuse. 

The  implicit  message  in  poverty  coverage  from  the 
early  1960s  was  clear.  The  undeserving  poor — those  who 
abuse  welfare — are  primarily  black;  the  desening  poor  are 
primarily  white. 

The  War  on  Poverty 

President  Johnson  launched  the  War  on  Poverty  in  Janu- 
ary of  1964,  and  media  attention  to  poverty  jumped  dra- 
matically. A  good  example  of  poverty  coverage  from  this 


20     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Figure  1.  Percent  African  Americans  in  Newsmagazine  Pictures  of  the  Poor,  1950-1992 


"" ""  ,M° ""  "  ""  ~  ""  K  ""  »  *  -  -  *■  ■«  ■»  ■»  ^  .1  .1,  .J-  ,L 

Urue  Percent  of  Black  among  the  Poor    ■  Blacks  Portrayed  as  Poor 


time  is  the  twelve-page  cover  story  called  "Poverty,  U.S.A." 
that  Newsweek  ran  on  February  17th.  The  cover  ot  the 
magazine  showed  a  white  girl,  perhaps  eighl  or  ten  years 
old,  looking  i mt  .it  the  nadir  from  a  rustic  shack,  her  hair 
disheveled  and  hei  face  covered  with  dirt  this  story  pro- 
filed poor  people  from  around  the  country:  an  elderly 
couple  from  Pi  irtland;  a  family  ot  ten  living  without  elec- 
tricity or  running  water  in  rural  Georgia;  a  "Main  Streel 
wino"  in  1  os  Angeles;  the  young  students  in  a  one-room 
school  in  Wesl  Virginia,  ot  the  54  poor  people  pictured  in 

this  Story,  oiil\   11  were  black. 

I  his  storj  was  typical  ot  Wai  on  r<  rverty  coverage  dur- 
ing 1964  m  its  substantia]  focus  on  rural  poverty,  its 
emphasis  on  images  oi  poor  whites,  and  its  generally  neu- 
tral tone  toward  the  [ohnson  administration's  antipovert] 
eitorts.  I  ike  this  story,  most  ot  the  early  coverage  ol  the 
War  on  Povertj  consisted  oi  descriptions  ol  antJpovertj 
programs,  profiles  oi  lohnson's  "poverty  warriors,"  and 
accounts  oi  poverty  in  America  illustrated  with  stones  oi 
individual  poor  people,  fhe  expansion  oi  news  coverage 
that  accompanied  the  War  on  Poverty  did  not  coincide 
with  the  racial izal Ion  ol  poverty  Images;  al  its  inception  al 
least,  the  w.ii  on  Povertj  was  asscx  lated  more  with  poor 
whites  than  with  \« oi  bla< ks. 


The  Racialization  of  Poverty  in  the  News 

I  he  turning  point  in  the  racialization  of  poverty  in  the 
news  came  in  1965.  The  proportion  of  blacks  among  pi(  - 
cures  of  the  poor  jumped  from  27  percent  In  1964  to  49 
percent  a  year  later.  As  the  thin  line  in  figure  I  shows,  the 
slutt  in  media  images  in  the  mid-1960s  cannot  be 
explained  In  any  true  change  in  the  proportion  of  bla<  ks 
among  the  poor. 

Coverage  ol  poverty  in  1965  remained  focused  prima- 
rily on  the  VVar  on  Poverty,  but  the  tone  oi  that  coverage 
i  hanged.  Instead  of  offering  neutral  stories  describing  the 
lohnson  administration's  new  antipovcrtv  initiatives  01 
broad  portraits  of  the  American  poor,  poverty  stories  m 
1965  were  much  harsher  examinations  ot  the  govern- 
ment's antipovcrtv  efforts  and  much  mine  critical  por- 
traits oi  the  poor.  And  these  stories  included  t.ir  larger 

numbers  ol  Atrium  Americans  than  stories  on  the  War  on 

Poverty  from  the  year  before. 

News  stories  about  the  |oh  ( lorps,  one  ot  the  lirst  War 
on  Povertj  programs  to  gel  ofl  the  ground,  illustrate  the 
negative  coverage  oi  the  War  on  Povertj  during  this 

period.    Ihese  stories  focused  on  problems  SUCh  as  poor 

screening  ol  participants,  inadequate  facilities,  and  high 
dropout  rates.  Bui  the  most  sensational  objections 


I. ill  .'( 11  irnal     21 


concerned  the  behavloi  ol  |oi>  (  nips  members  and  the 
tension  between  l<>i>  (  orps  centers  and  nearby  towns. 

For  example,  .1  US  News  and  World  Report  stony  bom 
Inly  L965  reported  charges  ol  "rowdyism"  .11  [ob  <  orps 
icii  icis.  Including  a  dormitory  riol  In  tongue  Point,  1  >re 
gon,  "in  whi<  h  lead  pipes  were  hurled"  and  the  al<  1  ihi »1 
related  expulsion  ol  eight  girls  from  .1  St.  Petersburg, 
Florida,  center.  "Another  worry,"  the  story  indicated, 
was  the  "antagonism  between 
( brpsmen  and  nearby  towns- 
men."    People     in     Astoria, 
Oregon,  for  example,   "com 
plained  about  hearing  obscene 
language  at  the  movie  theater," 
while  residents  of  Marion,  Illi- 
nois, were  upset  about  a  distur- 
bance at  a  roller  skating  rink  that 
occurred  when  some  Job  Corps 
members    showed    up    with 
liquor.  Although  these  incidents 
were  not  explicitly  linked  to 
black  Job  Corps  participants, 
over  half  the  Job  Corps  members 
pictured  were  black,  a  dramatic 
change  from  the  predominantly 
white  images  in  stories  on  the 
War  on  Poverty  from  the  previ- 
ous year. 

The  increasing  focus  on  the 
black  poor  that  began  in  1965 
continued  over  the  next  few 
years.  As  figure  1  shows,  news- 
magazine stories  on  poverty 
contained  even  higher  propor- 
tions of  African  Americans  in 
1966  and  1967.  During  a  period  A  lon9  hm?  ago,  in  a  country 
in  which  the  true  percentage  of 
African  Americans  among  the 

poor  hardly  changed  at  all,  but  in  which  poverty  discourse 
became  decidedly  more  negative,  blacks  came  to  domi- 
nate images  of  the  poor  in  the  media. 

Riots  and  Civil  Rights 

The  changing  portrayal  of  poverty  in  the  news  took  place 
during  a  tumultuous  period  in  American  politics  and  race 
relations.  In  August  of  1965,  rioting  broke  out  in  the  Los 
Angeles  neighborhood  of  Watts.  The  Watts  riots  lasted  six 
days,  and  left  34  dead  and  over  900  injured.  Ghetto  riots, 
which  spread  across  the  country  during  the  summers  of 
1965  through  1968,  brought  black  poverty  to  the  public's 
attention  in  the  most  dramatic  way  possible. 

The  mid-1960s  also  saw  a  shift  in  the  focus  of  the  civil 
rights  movement  from  the  fight  against  legal  inequality  to 
the  battle  against  economic  inequality.  Economic  inequal- 
ity had  long  been  a  concern  of  the  country's  black  leaders, 


hut  this  struggle  had  been  largely  eclipsed  durti  . 
1950s  and  earty  1960s  bj  the  effort  to  end  Jim  (  row 
regation  and  to  sa  lire  blai  t  voting  rights  In  the  South  Bj 
the  mid  1960s,  however,  Important  victories  had  I 
made  In  ending  legal  dis<  rimination,  ini  luding  the  <  ml 
Rights  Act  ol  1964  and  the  Voting  Rights  \<i.,i  196 

[Tie  urban  riots,  the  shifting  focus  oi  the  dvil  rights 
movement,  and  the  rise  of  .1  new  generation  oi  militant 
black  leaders,  all  contributed  to 
the  public  visibility  oi  the  M.k  \- 
poor.  Yet  asdramatii  and  impor- 
tant as  these  events  were,  the) 
cannot  explain  the  timing  oi  the 
mi  ialization  ol  poverty  in  the 
news  since  the  numbers  ot  |x«ir 
blacks  in  news  stories  jumped 
even  before  the  first  large-scale 
riots  empted  in  August  oi  1965 
Nor  ( an  these  events  explain  the 
content  of  these  news  stones, 
which  included  images  of  poor 
blacks  as  examples  of  the  prob- 
lems and  failures  of  the  War  on 
Poverty. 

Despite  the  political  up- 
heavals of  the  mid-1960s,  the 
media's  increased  attention  to 
black  poverty  was  not  distin- 
guished by  a  connection  with 
ghetto  riots  or  by  a  newfound 
concern  with  urban  poverty.  The 
War  on  Poverty  continued  to 
dominate  media  poverty  cover- 
age, but  as  the  tone  of  that  cov- 
erage became  more  negative,  the 
images  of  the  poor  became 
darker.  News  coverage  shifted 
from  stories  about  the  sympa- 
thetic and  "deserving"  poor,  illustrated  with  pictures  of 
whites,  to  stories  of  the  "undeserving"  poor  filled  instead 
with  images  of  blacks.  Racial  portrayals  changed,  in  other 
words,  to  fit  the  shifting  moral  stature  of  the  poor  in  the 
media. 

The  Changing  Face  of  Poverty 

The  tendency  of  the  news  media  to  associate  blacks  with 
negative  stories  on  poverty'  and  whites  with  neutral  or  pos- 
itive stories  is  not  limited  to  the  Kennedy  or  Johnson 
administrations'  antipoverty  programs.  During  the 
decades  since  the  1960s,  the  proportion  of  African  .Ameri- 
cans in  poverty  stories  has  risen  and  fallen;  the  highest 
percentage  of  blacks  have  appeared  in  periods  when  the 
media  discourse  on  poverty  is  most  negative,  and  the  low- 
est percentage  in  the  more  sympathetic  coverage  that 
tends  to  accompany  economic  downturns.  As  Figure  1 


far  away. 


22     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


shows,  the  highest  proportions  ot  blacks  among  the  pooi 
were  found  In  ll>72  and  1973,  while  the  Images  ol  povert) 
appearing  during  the  economic  recessions  of  1974-7  5  and 
1982-8 3  wire  much  whiter. 

(  overage  of  povertj  during  1972  and  1973  focused  pri- 
marily on  problems  with  welt. ire  .mil  efforts  .it  well. ire 

reform.  Between  the  mid-1960s  and  the  mid-1970s, 
spending  on  welfare  increased  dramatically  and  by  the 
early  1970s,  the  expansion  ol  welfare  had  come  to  be 

viewed  as  an  urgent  national  problem.  Stories  published 

during  1972  and  1973  almost  Invariably  referred  to  tins 

situation  as  the  "welfare  mess"  and  the  weekly  news- 
magazines ottered  story  after  storv  focusing  on  misman- 
agement in  welfare  burcaucr.ic  ies  or  abuse  of  welfare  by 
people  who  could  be  supporting  themselves.  I  his  sus- 
tained negative  coverage  ot  welfare  was  accompanied  by 
the  highest  proportions  of  hi. a  ks  of  any  point  during  the 
entire  -4  \-\  ear  period  examined. 

In  stark  contrast  to  the  negative  poverty  stories  of  the 
earlv  h>7()s,  newsmagazine  poverty  coverage  during  the 
"Reagan  recession"  of  the  earlv  ll>8()s  was  extremely  sup- 
|x>rtive  ol  the  country's  poor,  focusing  on  the  faltering 
economy  and  the  Reagan  administration's  efforts  to  "trim 
the  saletv  net."  these  stories  contained  the  smallest  pro- 
[Kirtion  of  blacks  since  the  racial ization  of  poverty  in  196.S. 

\  good  example  is  Xcwswvek's  prominent  storv  titled 
"The  Hard-Luck  Christmas  of  '82,"  which  proclaimed, 
"With  12  million  unemployed  and  2  million  homeless, 
private  charity  cannol  make  up  tor  federal  cutbacks." 
This  Story  went  on  to  describe  the  desperate  condition  of 
poor  families  living  in  camp  tents  or  in  automobiles, 
portraying  them  as  noble  victims  "who  .ire  paying  the 
price  of  America's  failure  ot  nerve  in  the  war  on  poverty." 
Reflecting  the  general  lack  of  black  faces  in  these  sympa- 
thetic poverty  stories,  "The  Hard-Luck  Christmas  of  '82" 
inc  I  tided  only  17  African  Americans  among  the  90  poor 
people  pictured. 

Another  theme  in  poverty  stories  from  this  period 
concerned  the  "newly  poor,"  thai  is,  formerly  middle- 
class  Americans  who  fell  into  poverty  during  the  reces- 
sion of  the  early  1980s.  Typical  of  this  coverage  is  a 
(white)  family  ot  four  profiled  In  a  U.S.  News  <///i/  World 
Report  storv  from  August  1982.  This  story  describes  how 
the  lelehowskis  were  "plunged  into  the  ranks  of  the 
newly  poor"  when  the  father  lost  his  job  as  a  machinist 
with  an  auto-parts  company.  No  longer  able  to  afford  a 
car  or  an  apartment,  the  lelehowskis  reluctantly  applied 

tor  welfare  and  became  squatters  in  an  abandoned  house 

in  Inner-city  Detroit. 

I  be-  storv  about  t  Ik-  lelehowskis,  with  their  two  small 
c  hildren  and  their  determined  struggle  to  support  them- 
selves, indicates  the  extraordinary  sympathy  thai  the 

"newly  poor"  received  in  news  coverage  from  the  early 
1980s.  Newsweek  was  even  more  extravagant  in  pro- 
claiming the  v  irtues  ot  the  newly  poor,  writing  "The  onl} 

aspect  ot  American  life  that  has  been  uplifted  bv  the 


Figure  2.  Perceptions  of  Welfare  Recipients 


Think  most  welfare 
recipients  are  black 


Think  most  welfare 
recipients  are  white 


In  your  opinion,  what  is  more  to  blame 
when  people  are  on  welfare? 


26% 

Circumstances  | 

beyond  their 

control 


63% 

Lack  of  effort 
on  their  own 

part 


Do  most  people  on  welfare 


want  to  work? 


Do  most  people  on  welfare 
really  need  it? 


SOUKCt:  CBS/New  York  Timei  poll.  December.  1 99* 


fall  20nn      Civil  1  il     23 


continuing  recession:  a  much  better  <  lass  ol  pooi  person, 
better  educated,  accustomed  t<>  working,  with  strong 
family  ties." 

it  is  iioi  surprising,  of  course,  thai  povertj  is  portrayed 
in  ,i  more  sympatheti<  lighl  during  economit  hard 
times.  What  is  noteworthy,  however,  is  thai  sliitls  in  the 
tone  ol  news  reporting  <>n  the  poor  art-  a<  i  ompanied  bj 
shiits  iii  the  racial  mix  of  the'  poor  people  In  news  stones 

The  true  proportion  ol  blacks  among  America's  poor 
remained  virtually  constant  throughout  these  decades, 

but  the  racial  portrayals  of  the  poor  in  newsmagazines 
shitted  dramatically  as  media  attention  turned  from 
highly  critical  coverage  of  welfare  during  the  early  1970s 
to  highly  sympathetic  stories  on  poverty  during  the 

recession  of  the  earlv  1980s. 


SHIFTS  in  the  tone  of  news  reporting  on  the  poor 

ARE  ACCOMPANIED  BY  SHIFTS  IN  THE  RACIAL  MIX  OF  THE 


POOR  PEOPLE  IN  NEWS  STORIES. 


Media  Images  and  Public  Perceptions 

The  racial  ebbs  and  flows  of  poverty  images  in  news- 
magazines are  paralleled  by  network  television  news.  In 
1968  (the  first  year  for  which  network  news  shows  are 
available),  both  newsmagazines  and  TV  news  included 
high  proportions  of  blacks  in  their  poverty  coverage;  in 
1982-83  the  racial  portrayal  of  the  poor  in  both  media  was 
largely  white;  and  in  1988-92  the  proportion  of  poor 
African  Americans  in  both  magazine  and  televison  news 
was  high  again.  Across  these  three  periods,  changes  in  TV 
news  portrayals  mirrored  those  in  the  newsmagazines, 
and  in  each  period  the  proportion  of  blacks  in  television 
coverage  of  poverty  was  slightly  higher  than  the  propor- 
tion in  newsmagazines. 

For  most  of  the  period  since  the  mid-1960s,  news  por- 
trayals have  greatly  exaggerated  the  extent  to  which  blacks 
compose  the  poor.  Not  surprisingly,  the  public's  percep- 
tions of  poverty  reflect  these  media  distortions.  In  national 
surveys,  Americans  guess  that  half  or  more  of  the  coun- 
try's poor  are  black  (depending  on  how  the  question  is 
phrased).  Furthermore,  this  misperception  is  shared 
equally  by  Americans  living  in  parts  of  the  country  with 
very  few  blacks  among  the  poor  (such  as  Utah  and  North 
Dakota)  and  those  in  states  with  substantial  numbers  of 
poor  blacks  (like  Pennsylvania  and  Michigan).  The  geo- 
graphic breadth  of  this  misperception  strongly  suggests 
that  media  images,  not  personal  encounters  with  poor 
people,  are  the  driving  force  behind  the  public's  racial  mis- 
perceptions  of  American  poverty. 

Media  images  affect  Americans'  perceptions  of  the 
poor,  and  these  perceptions  in  turn  affect  judgments 


about  the  <  auses  "f  poverty  and  support  tor  mi  opposi 
Hon  to)  government  antJpovertj  programs.  Whites  who 
Hunt  the  poor  art  mostly  blacl  are  more  likely  to  blame 
welfare  re<  Lpients  tor  theii  situation  and  are  more  likely 
tooppi  >■'  welfart  than  those  with  more  accurate  percep- 
tions of  poverty  in  one  survey,  for  example,  respond 
were  asked  which  is  more  important  when  people  are  on 
welfare:  lack  of  effort  or  circumstances  beyond  their  con- 
trol (see  figure  2).  Among  white  respondents  who 
thought  most  welfare  recipients  were  white,  half 
answered  "circumstances  beyond  their  control"  but 
among  white  respondents  who  thought  most  welfare- 
recipients  were  black,  only  one-quarter  blamed  "circum- 
stances" while  63  percent  said  "lack  Oi  effort"  was  the 
cause. 

Studies  show  that  most 
Americans  believe  economic 
opportunity  is  widespread 
and  that  anyone  who  tries 
hard  enough  can  get  ahead.  It 
follows  that,  although  people 
may  be  poor  for  many  rea- 
sons, any  group  that  remains 
poor  generation  after  genera- 
tion is  probably  not  trying  very  hard.  Thus,  the  exagger- 
ated association  of  poverty  with  African  Americans  bol- 
sters the  centuries-old  stereotype  of  blacks  as  lazy. 

Racial  stereotypes  and  misperceptions  of  the  poor 
reinforce  each  other.  If  poverty  is  a  black  problem, 
many  whites  reason,  then  blacks  must  not  be  trying 
hard  enough.  And  if  blacks  are  lazy,  then  it  stands  to 
reason  that  poverty  would  be  a  predominantly  black 
problem.  In  short,  the  public  rather  dramatically  mis- 
understands the  racial  composition  of  America's  poor, 
with  negative  consequences  for  both  poor  people  and 
African  Americans. 

Explaining  Media  Misrepresentations 

Why  do  apparently  liberal  journalists  create  news  stories 
that  distort  American  poverty  and  portray  the  black  poor 
in  a  consistently  negative  light? 

One  might  suppose  that  the  location  of  news  bureaus 
in  large  cities  could  explain  the  tendency  to  overrepresent 
the  black  poor.  But  contrary  to  popular  perceptions,  most 
poor  people  in  large  cities  are  not  black.  .Alternatively,  one 
might  imagine  that  journalists  looking  for  poor  people 
would  be  drawn  to  the  very  poorest  neighborhoods  in 
these  cities.  The  racial  mix  of  the  poor  in  these  neighbor- 
hoods is  more  heavily  black  than  in  less  impoverished 
areas.  Still,  most  of  the  poorest  neighborhoods  in  the 
country's  biggest  cities  contain  large  numbers  of  non- 
blacks.  If  news  photographers,  producers,  wiiters,  and  edi- 
tors tnily  sought  a  more  balanced  racial  portrayal  of  the 
poor,  it  would  not  be  hard  to  achieve — even  if  they 
restricted  themselves  to  the  poorest  neighborhoods. 


24     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Most  tellingly,  racial  distortions  m  povert)  coverage  an 
not  limited  to  (he  overall  representation  of  the  poor  I  he 
concentration  ol  poor  blades  in  innei  c  Ities  cannot  explain 
the  sudden  "whitening"  oi  povert)  Images  when  news 
coverage  ol  the  poor  becomes  more  sympathetic  Nor  can 
it  explain  the  lack  ol  black  races  in  stones  aboul  sympa- 
thetic Subgroups  like  the  elderly  or  the  working  poor. 

It  the  racial  geograph)  oi  America's  poor  cannol 
explain  the  ra<  ially  distorted  coverage  ol  poverty,  we  must 
consider  the  role  oi  stereotypes  held  by  those  who  pro- 
duce the  news,  [ournalists  working  al  the  country's  elite 

media  organizations  do  tend  to  he  political  liberals.  But 
Surveys  show  thai  even  liberal  whites  often  harbor  the 

same  racial  stereotypes  as  other  white  Americans. 

When  a  recent  sur\cv  asked  white  respondents  to  place 
Mai  ks  as  a  group  on  a  scale  trom  hard  working  on  one  rwd 
to  lazy  on  the  other,  tar  more  whites  chose  the  la/v  side  ol 
the  scale.  Even  whites  who  tailed  themselves  liberals  more 
often  labeled  blacks  "lazy"  than  "hardworking." 

[ournalists  may  differ  in  their  racial  views  trom  other 
liberal  whites,  ol  course,  and  may  be  less  likely  to  consider 
African  Americans  lazy  hut  stereotypes  function  at  the 
subconscious  as  well  as  the  101m  ious  level,  and  the  choice 
ot  examples  with  which  to  illustrate  stories  on  poverty 
ma)  depend  as  much  on  subconscious  judgments  about 
what  is  "appropriate"  as  on  conscious  evaluations  of 
blacks  and  the  poor. 

Psychologists  have  shown  that  even  people  who  con- 
st. i<  hisK  rejei  t  a  particular  stereotype  may  nevertheless  use 
that  stereotype  subconsciously  to  evaluate  social  groups. 
The  notion  ot  a  "subconscious  stereotype"  draws  on  the 
idea  that  people  hold  a  variety  of  beliefs  and  perceptions 
that  guide  their  behavior  but  ot  which  they  are  normally 

unaware.  When  people  act  purposefully  and  reflectively, 

their  conscious  beliefs  guide  their  actions,  but  when  they 
act  "on  impulse"  their  subconsi  ious  stereotypes  can  influ- 
ence their  decisions. 

The  text  of  a  news  stop.'  is  the  result  <  >t  quite  deliberate 
da  ision  making.  Journalistic  norms  ot  lairness  and  ,mu- 
racy  apply,  even  it  they  an-  not  always  followed  as  fully  as 
one  might  like.  Hut  the  examples  that  illustrate  a  news 
stor\  are  typically  subject  neither  to  the  norms  ol  an  urai  \ 
nor  to  the  conscious  deliberation  that  shapes  the  story's 
text,  lew  journalists  would  be  willing  to  produce  a  story 
that  Inaa  uratel)  reported  the  racial  composition  ot  Amer- 
ica's [x>or.  hut  photographs  are  not  held  to  the  same  stand- 
ards, and  their  selection  reflects  a  large!)  subconscious 

|udgmen1  process  in  which  considerations  ot  accuiacv 
may  be  overshadowed  In  concern  with  artistic  merit, 
emotional  power,  or  symbolic  rcsonaiu  e 

in  my  conversations  with  photo  editors  at  the  three 
week!)  newsmagazines,  I  found  that  none  had  am  dear 
M-nsc-  oi  bow  their  magazines  had  portrayed  the-  poor. 

Photographs  are  c  hoseii  stor\  bv  StOI)  and  no  attempt  is 
made  to  keep  trac  k  ot  the  results  ot  the  process  in  terms  ot 
racial  representation  or  am  other  criteria    I  hat  is  not  to 


What's  Wrong 
with  this  Picture? 

A  cover  story  on  welfare  reform  that  appeared  in  U.S. 
News  and  World  Report  in  January  1 995  indicated  in  a 
side-bar  that  43  percent  of  long-term  welfare  recipi- 
ents are  black.  But  1 4  of  the  1 8  welfare  recipients 
chosen  to  illustrate  this  story  (or  78  percent)  were 
African  American. 

Despite  repeated  efforts  over  the  course  of  several 
weeks,  the  journal  was  unable  to  secure  rights  to  the 
photos  in  time  for  publication  here.  However,  we  are 
able  to  reprint  the  captions  accompanying  them. 

LACK  OF  EDUCATION:  Aletha  Townsend  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  at  home  with  three  of  her  children, 
has  taken  adult-education  classes  for  10  years  but  still 
has  no  diploma. 

MAKING  EXCUSES:  Rebecca  Ybarra  of  Moreno, 
Calif.,  with  her  children  Robert  and  Rayleen,  elimi- 
nates some  potential  jobs  because  she's  "not  a  morn- 
ing person." 

SUFFERING  ABUSE:  Carmen  Mattison  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  is  training  to  be  a  nurse's  aide.  The 
father  of  her  first  three  children  is  in  prison  for 
molesting  one  of  her  children. 

CARING  FOR  THE  ILL:  Bertha  Bridges  of  Detroit,  who 
has  been  on  AFDC  for  most  of  the  past  1 5  years, 
fixes  her  daughter  Angel's  hair.  Her  son  suffers  from 
depression. 

BATTLING  DEPRESSION:  Caseworkers  in  Kenosha, 
Wis.,  found  22-year-old  Kim  Towers  struggling  with 
depression  and  referred  her  to  a  therapist.  (Interest- 
ingly, this  relatively  neutral  caption  accompanied  the 
only  photo  of  a  white  person  in  the  main  story.) 


say  that  journalists  are  unconcerned  with  how  their 
images  relied,  or  tail  to  retlect,  realitv;  but  the-  process  ot 
Selecting  examples  to  illustrate  the  news  is  simph    not 

designed  with  accuracy  as  a  primar)  consideration. 

\s  we  have  seen,  the  largely  subconscious  process  ot 
Choosing  examples  to  illustrate  news  stories  on  povert) 
results  ma  particular  pattern  ot  ra<  lal  Imager)  not  only  is 
poverty  coverage  dominated  bv  blac  k  laces,  but  the  i.:i  lal 

mix  i  it  examples  varies  depending  on  the  subgn  tup  I  >t  the 


Kill  2000       Civil  25 


poor  being  <  overed.  As  one  of  the  photo  editors  suggested, 
only  some  knul  oi  "subtle  ra<  Ism"  can  explain  these  pat 
terns  oi  racial  misrepresentation  oi  povertj  In  t  f  u  •  Ameri- 
can news  media. 

[ournalists  are  professional  observers  and  <  hroni<  lersoi 
our  sot  i. 1 1  world.  Bui  they  are  also  residents  of  thai  world 
and  are  exposed  to  the  same  biases  and  misperceptions 
thai  characterize  society  al  large.  When  journalists'  mis 
perceptions  creep  into  news  stories,  however,  they  gain 
exposure  to  .1  vasl  audience  and  serve  to  perpetuate  the 
stereotypes  thai  have  unfairly  burdened  African  Ameri- 
cans tor  centuries. 


THE  EXAGGERATED  association  of  poverty  with 
African  Americans  bolsters  the  centuries-old 


STEREOTYPE  OF  BLACKS  AS  LAZY. 


Solutions 

To  combat  public  misperceptions  of  poverty,  news 
organizations  must  broaden  their  concern  for  accuracy 
to  encompass  the  pictures  as  well  as  the  text  of  news  sto- 
ries. Providing  readers  with  factual  information  is  cer- 
tainly important,  and  more  frequent  references  to  the 
true  nature  of  America's  poor  might  help.  But  textual 
information  alone  will  not  be  enough  if  it  continues  to 
be  accompanied  by  misleading  images.  Nor  is  it  enough 
simply  to  increase  the  number  of  white  faces  in  stories 
on  poverty.  Equally  important,  if  not  more  so,  is  the  way 
that  poor  whites  and  poor  blacks  are  portrayed.  If  blacks 
are  less  numerous  in  poverty  coverage  but  continue  to  be 
disproportionately  identified  with  the  undeserving  poor, 
then  little  will  have  been  accomplished. 

On  the  whole,  we  would  expect  members  of  minority 
groups  to  be  more  sensitive  to  negative  stereotypes  of 
their  group.  Consequently,  one  important  step  to  raise 
the  level  of  racial  awareness  in  news  coverage  is  to 
expand  the  representation  of  minorities  in  the  news- 
room. Although  important  strides  in  this  direction  have 
been  made  over  the  past  decades,  minorities  remain  sub- 
stantially underrepresented  in  media  organizations,  and 
progress  toward  integration  has  now  slowed  to  a  crawl. 

But  it  is  not  the  sole  responsibility  of  minority  jour- 
nalists to  supervise  the  behavior  of  news  organizations  in 
this  regard.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  responsibility  of 
news  professionals  of  all  races  to  see  to  it  that  the  news 
does  not  distort  the  social  world  by  portraying  certain 
groups  in  unjustifiably  negative  ways. 

In  response  to  concerns  about  the  images  of  minori- 
ties in  the  news,  some  news  organizations  have  insti- 
tuted "photo  audits"  to  systematically  track  the  way 
minorities  (or  women)  are  portrayed.  For  example,  in 


\')HH  the  Seattle  JTnu  ■  began  to  counl  photograph]  oi 
minorities  appearing  In  positive,  neutral,  and  ro  . 
1  ontexts,  and  found  thai  negative  Images  oi  minorities 
outnumber!  d  pi  isftivi  imagi  s  bj  tour  to  one 

in  response  to  this  dismal  portrayal  oi  minorities  and 
to  the  discussion  .m<i  "consciousness  raising"  thai 
cum icd  ,11 1 101  ix  the  news  staff,  < overage  1  hanged  In  the 
following  year,  positive  images  oi  minorities  outnum- 
bered negative  images.  Bj  1990,  the  limes  published 
twice  as  many  photographs  depicting  minorities  i>osi- 
tivelj  ,is  negatively  (a  ratio  thai  closely  approximated 
the  portrayal  oi  whites  in  the  limes'  coverage).  As  the 
Sail  lie  Times'  experience 
shows,  when  a  news  organi- 
zation makes  the  fair  repre- 
sentation of  different  social 
groups  a  priority  and  takes 
concrete  steps  to  monitor  its 
own  news  content,  substan- 
tial change  can  be  accom- 
plished in  a  short  time. 

I  he  poverty  population  as 
shown  in  the  news — predominantly  black,  overwhelm- 
ingly unemployed,  and  almost  entirely  nonelderly — is 
unlikely  to  generate  much  support  for  government 
an ti poverty  programs  among  white  Americans.  Nor  is 
public  support  for  efforts  to  redress  racial  inequality 
likely  to  be  bolstered  by  these  images.  Not  only  do 
African  Americans  as  a  whole  suffer  from  the  exaggerated 
association  of  race  and  poverty,  but  poor  African  .Ameri- 
cans (who  are  often  the  intended  beneficiaries  of  race- 
targeted  policies)  are  portraved  in  a  particularlv  negative- 
light. 

Changing  the  way  poor  people  are  portrayed  in  the 
news  will  not,  in  itself,  upend  public  attitudes  toward 
race  and  poverty.  The  stereotypes  involved  are  too  old 
and  too  ingrained.  Yet  stereotypes  do  change,  and  social 
groups  that  were  once  reviled  are  now  accepted. 

African  Americans  too  have  gained  much  ground  in 
the  battle  for  social  and  economic  equality.  But  progress 
has  been  too  slow  and  setbacks  too  frequent.  The  mass 
media  have  played  a  crucial  positive  role  at  many  junc- 
tures in  the  fight  for  racial  equality,  but  in  their  portray- 
als of  poverty,  network  television  news  and  national 
newsmagazines  have  been  the  kind  of  "friends"  that 
poor  blacks  can  least  afford.  CJ3 

In  keeping  with  the  Commission  !s  guidelines,  the  three  news 
magazines  mentioned  in  this  article  have  beeen  offered  an 
opportunity  to  respond.  Responses  received  after  the  publication 
of  the  Journal  will  he  published  in  the  next  issue. 


Martin  Gilens  is  Associate  Professor  of  Political  Science 
at  UCLA.  His  book  Why  Americans  Hate  Welfare:  Race, 
Mei )Ia,  and  the  Politics  of  Axn-Pt  n t.rt)  A  ulcv  was  pub- 
lished by  the  University  of  Chicago  Press. 


26     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Human 

Radiation 

Experiments: 

The  Still  Unfolding  Legacy 


by  Dan  Guttman 


In  November  1993,  journalist  Eileen  Well- 
some  gave  names  and  real  life  histories  to  18 

Americans  who  had  been  injected  with  plu- 
tonium,  a  key  ingredient  in  the  atomic 
bomb.  The  patients  were  used  in  secret 
experiments,  reportedly  without  their  con- 
sent, to  understand  how  plutonium  courses 
through  the  human  body.  The  data  from 
these  experiments  were  collected  to  try  to 
limit  the  hazards  facing  thousands  ot  work- 
ers at  the  Manhattan  Project,  the  govern- 
ment's top-secret  war-time  effort  to  develop 
the  A-bomb.  After  Wellsome's  series 
appeared,  reports  on  other  "human  radia- 
tion experiments" — including  testicular  irra- 
diation ot  prisoners  in  Washington  and  Ore- 
gon and  radioisotope  laced  breakfast  served 
to  institutionalized  children  in  the  "science 
club"  at  the  Fernald  School  in  Massachu- 
setts    received  widespread  attention. 

The  public  controversy  that  ensued 
brought  basic  questions  to  the  lore:  How 
main   experiments  were  sponsored  bv  the 

government,  and  why?  Was  anyone 
harmed?  what,  it  anything,  were  the  sub- 
lets told?  What  ethical  principles  guided 

the    experiments   at    the    time,    anil    how 

should  these  principles  be  evaluated  in  ret- 
rospect? What  should  tin-  government's 
response  be  today? 

in  fanuary  1994,  Presidenl  (  Linton 
appointed  the  \d\ isorv  Committee  on 
Human  Radiation  Experiments,  whose  it 


iJ    ^ 

Ken  Case,  1 984.  N<  n,  Nev. 

lall.? 27 


members  ln<  luded  .1  <  Itlzens  representative  and  experts 
in  bioethics,  medicine,  radiation  science,  history  and 
law.  I  served  as  the  Exe<  utive  1  >ire<  tor  (and  was  gifted 
with  .111  extraordinary  stafl  1. 
1  he  <  Committee  w.is 


tasked  to  unearth  and 
tell  the  story  ol  hum. in 
experiments  thai  took 
place  in  the  i*M4-74 
period  (prior  to  the 
Introduction  oi  broad- 
based  regulation  requir- 
ing disclosure  and  con- 
sent In  federally  funded 
human  experiments), 
and  to  determine  how 
the  experiments,  under- 
taken in  a  different  era 
and  with  different 
standards,  should  be 
judged.  The  Committee 
was  also  tasked  to  eval- 
uate the  billions  of  dol- 
lars in  ongoing  federally 


long  secret,  ranging  from  the  administrations  oi 

franklin  Roosevelt  to  Gerald  Ford,  ["he  <  ommittee 

reviewed  thousands  oi  <io(  uments,  Interviewed  dozens 

oi  surviving  resean  hers,  offli  lals  and  partu  Ipants,  held 

',1  daysol  publii  hearings,  and  sur- 

:  veyed  ongoing  resean  h.  fl  he  final 

h  port,  published  bj  <  beford  1  m 

-_  — — ^^  I      versity  I'ress,  contains  a  "<  11 

KMDIATIOHI  hazard "^  "  <'""l<'    '"  'U<(SS  the  documenta- 


PROHIBITFn    A-  As  the  <  on 


wed  In  the  (  oiiimittee'% 


PROHIBITED 

THIS  INCLUDES  BLASTED  DEBRIS. FUSED SUCA 
METAL  FRAGMENTS.*  LOCATED  forth.,  toPOMT 


oiiunittee's  research  pro- 
gressed, it  became  clear  that  to 
understand  contemporary  thinking 
about  the  ethical  questions  posed 
by  human  radiation  experiments,  it 
was  necessary  to  understand  the 
new  roles  undertaken  by  biomed- 
ical researchers  at  the  intersection 
of  the  fast-growing  fields  of  radia- 
tion science  and  government-spon- 
sored research  at  the  start  of  the 
Cold  War.  A  pivotal  clue  came  from 
long-classified  documents  filed  in 


" 


EXPERIMENTS  COINCIDED  WITH  THE  ALLIED  TRIBUNAL'S 


1947   PROMULGATION   OF  THE   NUREMBERG   CODE,   WHICH  APPLIED  THE  PRINCIPLE 


OF  CONSENT  TO  JUDGE  THE  BARBARIC   "EXPERIMENTATION"   PERFORMED  BY   NAZI 
DOCTORS. 


sponsored  human  experimentation  (including  non- 
radiation  research),  to  assess  the  workings  of  the  regu- 
latory system  implemented  in  the  1970s. 

When  the  Committee  began  its  work,  some  citizens 
expressed  strong  views  about  how  to  judge  past  prac- 
tices of  disclosure  and  consent.  Today,  Federal  rules 
require  prior  review  of  proposed  experiments,  to  ensure 
that  all  the  relevant  risks  and  benefits  have  been  con- 
sidered and  that  informed  consent  has  been  provided 
for.  Many  citizens,  including  researchers  and  scholars 
on  the  evolution  of  medical  ethics,  pointed  out  that 
today's  standards  were  not  in  effect  fifty  years  ago.  Oth- 
ers countered  that  it  is  self-evident  that  no  one  should 
be  experimented  upon  without  his  or  her  voluntary 
consent.  Moreover,  they  pointed  out,  the  plutonium 
experiments  coincided  with  the  Allied  tribunal's  1947 
promulgation  of  the  Nuremberg  Code,  which  applied 
the  principle  of  consent  to  judge  the  barbaric  "experi- 
mentation" performed  by  Nazi  doctors. 

To  address  these  issues,  the  Committee  plunged  into 
the  reconstruction  of  government  programs,  some 


the  archives  of  the  Atomic  Energy  Commission  (AEC). 
Secret  memoranda  dating  from  the  AEC's  1947  reflec- 
tions on  the  Manhattan  Project  experiments  revealed 
that  the  principle  of  "informed  consent"  was,  in  fact, 
well  understood  in  the  inner  sanctums  of  Cold  War 
biomedical  research  programs.  However,  the  docu- 
ments also  showed  that  the  task  of  translating  that 
principle  into  practice  was  repeatedly  frustrated,  both 
by  the  bureaucracy's  view  that  it  was  entitled  to  protect 
itself  and  its  numerous  contractors  against  embarrass- 
ment and  liability,  and  by  the  biomedical  profession's 
view  that  requiring  informed  consent  was  an 
unneeded  intrusion  on  its  traditional  role  as  protector 
of  the  patient. 

It  must  be  emphasized  that  the  Committee  found 
relatively  few  cases  in  which  subjects  of  non-therapeu- 
tic experiments  sustained  injury.  (It  recommended  that 
compensation  be  provided  in  all  such  cases.)  The  vast 
majority  of  experiments  involved  radioisotope  "trac- 
ers" which  were  intended  to  measure  bodily  processes 
and,  by  definition,  were  administered  in  amounts 


28     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


sufficiently  small  as  not  to  perturb  the  processes 
being  measured  (i.e.,  to  have  an  "acute"  effect).  \t 
the  same  time,  it  cannol  be  gainsaid  thai  l<  »h>;ct- 
tenn  risks,  however  small,  were  also  present,  rhe 
t  ommittee  could  not  determine  whether  any 
Individual  was  physically  banned  as  a  result  oi  the 
plutonium  injections;  it  did  find  evidence  ol  kid- 
ney damage  In  some  patients  exposed  to  uranium, 
in  soiiit-  non-therapeutk  experiments  involving 
children,  exposures  were  associated  with  an  ele- 
vated (and  unacceptable)  lifetime  risk  ol  develop- 
big  certain  cancers.  The  greatest  demonstrable 
harm  W3S  to  uranium  miners  who  remained  sub- 
jects ol  government  observational  research  during 
periods  in  which  they  were  known  to  be  experi- 
encing excessive  exposure  to  hazard.  Several  hun- 
dred have  died  of  lung  cancer  that  might  have 
been  prevented  had  the  government  insisted  to 
government  contractors  that  mines  be  ventilated, 
instead  ot  choosing  to  continue  the  research  as  the 
risks  mounted. 

But,  by  and  large,  the  story  found  by  the  Com- 
mittee was  one  of  the  nation's  most  trusted  pro- 
fessionals— medical  researchers,  public  servants, 
military  officials — seeking  to  serve  two  critical  and 
worthy  purposes:  safeguarding  national  security 
and  advancing  medical  knowledge.  The  govern- 
ment and  its  researchers  were,  in  the  context  of 
their  times,  aware  of  the  risks  that  citizens  were 
being  subjected  to  and,  with  important  excep- 
tions, such  as  the  uranium  miners,  sought  to  min- 
imize the  risk  and  prevent  harm.  However,  while 
there  were  relatively  few  injuries,  the  Committee 
found  that  the  government  and  its  researchers  typ- 
ically failed  to  tell  subjects  that  they  were  the  sub- 
jects of  experiments,  and  to  ask  for  their  consent. 
Although  their  ends  were  laudable,  the  govern- 
ment and  its  researchers  in  effect  used  patients, 
soldiers,  and  workers  as  guinea  pigs. 

The  Historical  Framework 

The  earliest  human  radiation  experiments  took 
place  soon  after  the  18\>.S  discovery  of  radioactiv- 
ity, which  was  immediately  recognized  as  a  revo- 
lutionary tool  for  medicine-,  and,  indeed,  was  trag- 
ically marketed  as  a  patent  medicine  elixir.  In  the 
1930s,  campus  gatherings  ot  biologists  and  physi- 
cists yielded  the  birth  ot  nuclear  medicine,  with 
atom  smashers  producing  radioactive  "tracers" 
that  haw  been  essential  to  understanding  meta- 
bolic processes  and  diagnosing  ills. 

I  he  Manhattan  Project  transformed  this  col 
tage  research.  Keenly  aware  that  exposure  to  radi- 
ation had  caused  an   epidemic    ot    |aw  disease 
among  women  who  had  been  employed  painting 


PHOTO  Carole  Gallagher 


Richland,  Washingtc 

Poet  Debora  Creger  remembers  growing  up  in  the  shadow  of  a 
nuclear  weapons  plant. 

I  grew  up  in  a  desert.  A  desert  twice  over,  second-growth  desert — 
the  first  settlers,  ranchers  and  orchardists,  were  forced  out  by  the 
government  in  the  1 940s  to  make  way  for  the  biggest  stateside 
secret  of  the  war,  the  building  of  the  Hanford  atomic  plant.  The 
plant,  though  even  its  workers  hadn't  known  it  at  the  time,  made 
the  plutonium  for  the  bomb  dropped  on  Nagasaki.  The  high 
school  team  was  named  the 
Bombers.  The  school  ring  had 
a  mushroom  cloud  on  it. 

My  father  had  a  security 
clearance.  I  didn't  know  what 
he  did  for  a  living,  just  that  he 
rode  the  bus  out  into  the  desert 
every  day,  like  every  other 
father  I  knew.  At  supper  he'd 
tell  us  sometimes  what  he'd 
seen  on  the  forty-mile  trip — 
rabbits,  deer,  coyotes,  goats 
gone  wild.  In  winter  the  goats 
sheltered  in  a  bank  left  standing 
where  a  town  had  been,  the 
bank's  cement  walls  too  thick  to 
be  flattened.  Perhaps  he  told  us 
about  this  because  he  wasn't 
supposed  to  talk  about  his 
work. 

I  grew  up  in  the  wind.  Wind 
in  the  cottonwoods  of  the  shelterbelt,  then  in  the  walls  of  the 
house,  or  filling  your  clothes,  bringing  you  dust.  Tumbleweeds 
rolled  through  town,  down  the  streets  named  for  dead  army 
engineers,  up  the  ones  named  for  the  trees  from  some  greener 
world.  Past  the  schools  named  for  white  men  who  took  that 
remote  corner  of  the  West  from  the  Indians.  Past  the  one  named 
for  their  Indian  guide,  and  the  one  for  a  chief  they  defeated  with- 
out killing.  Past  the  neon  atom  spinning  above  the  Uptown 
Theater,  "uptown"  a  wild  dream,  a  single  block  of  shops  two 
blocks  north  of  "downtown"  and  its  small  handful  of  stores.  Past 
the  bowling  alley,  the  Atomic  Lanes. 

This  is  the  landscape  by  which  all  others  are  found  wanting. 
The  bare  hills — such  extravagance  of  browns  and  grays.  The  sil- 
very browns.  The  brassy,  coppery,  golden  grays.  The  Bois  de 
Boulogne,  the  hills  of  Umbria,  even  Seattle  just  over  the  moun- 
tains— too  green,  too  many  trees.  The  canyons  of  Manhattan — 
so  much  to  see,  you  couldn't  see  anything.  Richland  had  more 
than  enough  sky.  Wind  was  the  landscape.  It  had  swept  out  the 
past;  the  present  was  dust.  I  can  almost  taste  it.  The  rain  smelled 
sweetly  of  it.  Even  the  snow  was  dusty.  Even  the  dust,  though  we 
didn't  know  it  then,  was  radioactive. 

Creger's  collection,  Desert  Fathers,  Uranium  Daughters  is  available 
from  Penguin  Books. 

Fall  2 29 


radium  wat<  h  "glow  In  the  dark"  dials  In  the  19  10 
resean  hers(  i<  >m-I\  monitored  the  effect  of  radiation  on 
Manhattan  Pro)ecl  workers   rhls  "clinical  study  of  the 
personnel,"  Manhattan  projed  radiation  researchei 
Robert  Stone  wrote  In  194  ',  "is  one  vasl  experiment." 

When  the  War  ended,  bomb  fa<  llities  were  harnessed 
by  the  newly  created  ai-.c  to  produce  radioisotopes  for 
"hum. in  use."  By  the  n i id- 1 «>S( >s  these  radioisotopes  had 
been  employed  in  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands,  <>i 
human  experiments,  most  conducted  by  universities  and 
hospitals.  This  research,  often  noted  in  technical  litera- 
ture at  the  time,  yielded  enduring  benefits  in  diagnostic 
procedures,  therapies,  and  understanding.  Practices  that 
at  the  end  of  World  War  II  were  limited  to  a  lew  do/en 
practitioners  are  now  mainstays  of  modern  medicine. 

The  ( lommittee  found  that  the  AEC  radioisotope  pro- 
gram did  address  risk  and  safety  issues,  essential  compo- 


offl<  ials,  eac  h  with  thru  own  vi  ot  <  ompeting  interests 
anil  elhx  al  COri(  'iir. 

The  AEC  in  1 947:  Disclosure  Mandated  but  Not 
Permitted 

Despite  the  hypothesis  shared  by  main  ol  the-  <  oiiimit 
tee    members      thai    our    <  onnmpor.irs     notions    ot 

informed  consent  had  simply  not  emerged  at  the  time  ol 

the  experiments— it  turned  out  th.it  leading  mid-century 
atomic  energy  officials  and  researchers  were  themselves 
attuned  to  the  core  issues  ol  Individual  dignity  and 
openness,  lor  example-,  David  l.ilienthal,  first  chair  of 
the  Al.<  ,  declared  in  his  1946  Senate  I  onlirmation  hear- 
ing that  the  government  "must  promote  and  protect  and 
defend  the  integrity  and  dignity  of  the  individual."  In 
communism,  he  explained  with  the  strongest  disap- 


Secret  memor 


DATING   FROM   1947   REVEALED  THAT  THE  PRINCIPLE 
OF   "INFORMED  CONSENT,"   WAS,   IN   FACT,   WELL  UNDERSTOOD  IN  THE  INNER 
SANCTUMS  OF  COLD   WAR   BIOMEDICAL  RESEARCH   PROGRAMS. 


nents  of  ethical  research,  both  at  the  national  level  and 
through  local  "human  use"  committees. 

However,  the  radioisotope  program's  protocol  did  not 
similarly  address  and  provide  for  disclosure  and  consent. 
Prior  to  the  onset  of  the  Committee's  work  this  finding 
might  not  have  raised  eyebrows;  broad  Federal  disclo- 
sure and  consent  rules  were  not  issued  until  the  f970s, 
and  historians  of  medical  ethics  believed  that  the  princi- 
ple of  informed  consent  was  not  even  in  circulation  at 
that  time.  However,  long  secret  documentation  revealed 
that  the  ethical  question  of  "informed  consent"  was  not 
only  brought  to  the  fore  by  the  cascade  of  post-war  gov- 
ernment sponsored  human  research,  but — behind  closed 
doors — was  the  subject  of  acute  attention  by  atomic 
energy  officials  and  researchers.  Indeed,  it  was  in  the 
context  of  this  radiation  research  that  many  of  the  con- 
siderations we  now  take  for  granted,  such  as  risk  regula- 
tion and  informed  consent,  were  first  articulated  and 
debated. 

Even  then,  of  course,  the  basic  considerations  were 
not  new.  Whenever  a  doctor  is  also  a  researcher,  a  poten- 
tial for  conflict  emerges  between  the  advancement  of  sci- 
ence and  the  advancement  of  the  patient's  well-being. 
The  conflict  is  particularly  acute  in  cases  where,  as  in 
much  biomedical  research,  there  is  little  expectation  that 
the  research  will  be  of  benefit  to  the  subject  (that  is,  the 
research  is  nontherapeutic),  though  it  ultimately  may  be 
of  great  social  benefit.  What  was  new  was  the  scope  and 
depth  of  medical  research,  and  the  context  within  which 
it  was  taking  place:  large,  federally  funded  projects 
involving  researchers,  bureaucrats,  and  government 


proval,  the  state  is  not  limited  by  "ethical  standards."  In 
1947,  a  blue  ribbon  Medical  Board  of  Review  convened 
by  Lilienthal  declared  that  "secrecy  in  scientific  research 
is  distasteful  and  in  the  long  run  is  contrary  to  the  best 
interests  of  scientific  progress. ...  in  so  far  as  it  is  compat- 
ible with  national  security,  secrecy  in  the  field  of  biolog- 
ical and  medical  research  [is  to]  be  avoided." 

These  public  proclamations  were  put  to  the  test,  how- 
ever, when  the  AEC  was  given  responsibility  for  deciding 
what  to  do  about  previous  and  ongoing  Manhattan  Proj- 
ect experiments.  In  late  1946,  for  example,  a  report  on  the 
plutonium  experiments  was  declassified.  When  the  AEC 
began  operations,  however,  the  report  was  reclassified  to 
"restricted."  A  February  1947,  memo — uncovered  by  a 
Committee  staffer  in  a  classified  Oak  Ridge,  Tennessee, 
vault — vividly  recorded  internal  AEC  concerns: 

The  [plutonium  research  report)  appears  to  be  the 
most  dangerous  since  it  describes  the  experiments 
performed  on  human  subjects,  including  the  actual 
injection  of  plutonium  metals  into  the  body  ... 
Unless,  of  course,  the  legal  aspects  were  covered  by 
the  necessary  documents,  the  experimenters  and 
the  employing  agencies,  including  the  U.S.,  have 
been  laid  open  to  a  devastating  lawsuit  which  would, 
through  its  attendant  publicity,  have  far-reaching  results 
(emphasis  added). 

In  a  November  1947  letter  to  the  researcher  Robert 
Stone,  the  AEC  General  Manager  Carroll  Wilson  con- 
veyed the  Medical  Board  of  Review's  conclusion  that 


30     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


"the  mattei  ol  human  experimentation"  should  remain 
classified  where  certain  "conditions"  were  not  satisfied. 
Wilson  quoted  from  a  preliminary  unpublished  and 
restricted  draft  oi  the  Medical  Board's  report 

We  believe  thai  no  substances  known  to  be,  oi  sus- 
pected oi  being,  poisonous  or  harmful  should  be 
given  to  human  beings  unless  all  ol  the  following 
conditions  are  fully  met  (a)  tluit  a  reasonable  hope 
exists  that  the  administration  of  such  i<  substance  "ill 
improve  tine  condition  of  the  patient;  (b)  thai  the  patient 
give  his  complete  and  informed  consent  in  writing 
(emphasis  added). 

I  his  recommendation,  also  uncovered  in  the  (  om- 
mittee's  research,  is  remarkable  on  several  counts.  I  irst,  it 
revealed  that,  in  the  inner  sanctums  of  governmenl 
research,  the  Ale  articulated  a  requiremenl  for 
"informed  consent"  one  decade  prior  to  the  first  previ- 
ously known  use  of  the  term  (in  a  1956  California  court 
decision).  Second,  it  showed  that  national  security  was 
never  considered  as  an  excuse  for  not  doing  the  right 
thing,  even  in  the  immediate  aftermath  ol  World  War  ll, 
at  the  inception  oi  the  (  old  War.  hoth  ol  these  findings 
contradicted  many  people's  original  ideas  about  what 
may  have  motivated  the  key  actors  involved  in  these 
decisions. 

Yet,  if  the  principle  of  informed  consent  was  regarded 
as  compelling,  the  need  to  keep  secrets  was  perceived  as 
even  more  so.  I  he  plutonium  subjects  (and/or  their  fam- 
ilies) were  not  told  of  the  experiments  until  the  1970s, 
even  as  follow-up  tests  were  conducted.  (The  vast  pre- 
ponderance ot  other  subjects  were  not  followed  up  at  all.) 

I  his  same  process  the  simultaneous  recognition  of 
the  applicability  ot  a  principle  (in  this  case,  the  impor- 
tance ot  disclosing  relevant  health  information  to 
affected  citizens)  and  the  inability  or  refusal  to  act 
accordingly — was  behind  the  government's  suppression 
ot  information  regarding  nuclear  weapons  workers  and 
communities,  as  well  as  experimental  subjects.  A  1947 
memo  from  ( >ak  Ridge  to  Al  <    I  leadquartcrs  put  it: 

Papers  referring  to  the  levels  ot  soil  and  water  con- 
tamination surrounding  Atomic  Energy  Commis- 
sion facilities,  idle  speculation  on  future  genetic 

effects  Ol  radiation  and  papers  dealing  with  poten- 
tial process  hazards  to  employees  are  definitely  prej- 
udicial to  the  best  interests  ot  the  government. 
Ever)  suih  release  is  reflected  in  an  increase  in 
insurance  claims,  increased  dilticultv  in  labor  rela- 
tions and  adverse  public  sentiment. 

Another  memo  from  the  same-  era  cited  considera- 
tions about  the  impact  oi  such  information  on  the 
morale  oi  employees,  the  bargaining  position  ol  tin 
unions,  and  the  liability  ol  the  government  and  industry. 


The  Role  of  the  Medical  Profession 
I  he  \l  (  \  response  to  the  Manhattan  Projecl  experi- 
ments reveals  the  mainsprings  ot  the  evolution  oi  the 
principle  Ol  Informed  consent — now  a  bedrock  principle 
ol  human  subject  research     and  by  extension,  provides  a 

fascinating  case  studv  in  the  nature  ol  ethical  progress. 

Leaders  In  radiation  research  were  aware  of  the  ethical 

questions  involved  in  human  experimentation,  some  ot 
them  articulated  principles  ot  informed  consent  and 

openness  in  words  ot  groundbreaking  ,um\  enduring  qual- 
ity. Vet,  these  "modern"  concepts  coexisted  with  other 
concepts  concern  lor  public  image,  and  tear  ot  limited 
public  understanding- that  also  have  a  modem  ring. 
When  conflicts  occurred,  seucc  v  COO  often  won  out. 

In  the  contest  between  these  concepts  the-  govern- 
ment was  often  not  the  sole,  and  arguably  not  even  the 
main,  actor.  I  he-  medical  profession  played  a  critical 
role.  By  World  War  II,  it  was  conventional  lor  the  mili- 
tary to  seek  consent  where  subjects  were  healthy  sol- 
diers. Doctors,  too,  recognized  the  need  to  gain  consent 
before  employing  healthy  subjects  in  non-therapeutic 
research,  hut  as  tar  as  the  doctors  were  concerned,  if  a 
previously  established  doctor/patient  relationship 
existed,  the  age-old  tradition  ot  "beneficence"  governed. 
To  put  it  bluntly,  once  you  got  sick,  you  were  lair  game, 
at  least  if  the  doctor  did  not  believe  you  were  put  at 
unreasonable  risk.  (It  was,  of  course,  this  thinking  that 
resulted  in  the  cases,  involving  vulnerable  individuals 
such  as  the  terminally  ill,  institutionalized  children, 
pregnant  women,  and  prisoners  used  in  the  absence  ot 
perceived  therapeutic  benefit,  that  garnered  the  most 
public  outrage  in  1994.) 

A  researcher  recalled  his  experience  at  I  larvard  in  the 
1950s:  "Mostly,  I'm  ashamed  to  say,  it  was  as  if — and  I'm 
putting  this  very  crudely  purposefully — as  if  you'd 
ordered  a  bunch  of  rats  from  a  laboratoiv  ami  von  had 
experimental  subjects  available  to  you.  They  were  never 
asked  by  anybody."  Another  recalled  his  experience  at 
Mottett  Hospital  in  San  I  rancisco  in  1956-57:  "I'd  tmd 
some  patients  in  the  hospital  and  I'd  add  a  little  \(  TH  to 
their  infusion  and  collect  urine...  I  didn't  consider  it  dan- 
gerous, hut  I  didn't  considei  it  necessary  to  inform  them 
either."  Researchers  who  did  reflect  on  the  Implications 
ot  the  Nuremberg  (lode  assumed,  as  one  put  it,  that  it 
"was  a  good  code  for  barbarians  but  ,\n  unnecessary  code 
foi  ordinary  physicians." 

The  1947  Al  (  documents  show  that  biomedical  lead- 
ers close  to  the  secret  experiments  recognized  that  it  is 
no  less  unacceptable  to  experiment  on  an  unknowing 
patient  than  on  an  unknowing  healthy  subject.  Yet  even 
alter  leading  medical  professionals  realized  this,  lhe\ 
often  tailed  to  abide  bv  it,  and  some  ae  tiv  elv  campaigned 

against  it.  It  was,  perhaps  surprisingly,  die  military  that 
episodically  sought  to  bring  practices  to  norm. 
ih\  February  2<>.  1953,  President  Eisenhower's  new 

Sec  ictarv  ol  Defense  issued  a  "  lop  Sec  hi"  memorandum 


Lit!  2000      l  I  al     31 


to  the  servi<  e  se<  retaries  thai  reiterated  the  prim  tples  oi 
the  Nuremberg  Code,  and  required  written  and  wit- 
nesses Informed  consent  oi  research  subjects.  Mins 
Korean  War  action  is  furthei  striking  evidence  that — 
even  at  the  height  oi  the  Cold  vv.ii  the  nation's  top 
officials  did  not  contend  thai  national  security  needs 
nullity  consent  requirements.)  Bui  as  late  as  i<x>i-62, 
the  Harvard  Medical  School  successfully  beal  back  the 
Army's  efforts  to  impose-  this  restatemenl  oi  the  Nurem- 
berg (lode  as  a  condition  of  Harvard's  research  contracts 
with  the  Army.  Harvard's  Henry  Beecher,  who  would 
later  emerge  as  a  medical  crusader  tor  experimental  sub- 
ject's rights,  argued  that  the  relationship  of 
doctor/patient  trust  and  integrity  of  the  researcher  was 
tlie  key  to  protection  and  that  "rigid  rules  will  jeopardize 
the  research  establishments  of  this  country." 

Medical  profession  conventions  remained  silent  on 
protections  for  patient-subjects  in  experiments  that 
ottered  no  direct  therapeutic  benefit  but  that  physicians 
believed  posed  acceptable  risk.  Ultimately,  it  was  only 
repeated  public  scandal — such  as  the  now  infamous 
Tuskegee  syphillis  study — that  led  to  the  1974  issuance 
of  the  regulations  that  require  that  proposed  research  be 
reviewed  by  "institutional  review  boards"  to  assure  the 
safety  (and  scientific  integrity)  of  research,  but  also  the 
adequacy  of  disclosure  and  consent. 

Fault  Lines  Continue  to  Emerge 

The  Committee  concluded  that  it  was  wholly  unaccept- 
able for  the  government  to  conceal  information  from  its 
citizens  to  avoid  liability  and  embarrassment.  It  recom- 
mended that  the  government  provide  an  individualized 
apology  and  compensation  to  surviving  family  in  all 
cases  where  a  coverup  had  taken  place.  In  October  1995, 
on  receipt  of  the  Committee's  report,  President  Clinton 
apologized  to  the  families  of  the  plutonium  experiments, 
and  to  subjects  and  families  of  other  experiments. 

Since  the  Committee  officially  closed  shop  in  1995, 
there  have  been  continuing  revelations  of  malfeasance, 
particularly  with  regard  to  thousands  of  nuclear  weapons 
workers  and  their  communities.  For  example,  a  recently 
publicized  March  11,  1960,  AEC  memo  shows  that  top 
AEC  biomedical  officials  recognized  that  "possibly  300 
people  at  Paducah  [Kentucky  nuclear  weapons  facility] 
should  be  checked  out"  for  neptunium  contamination, 
but  that  there  was  hesitation  to  "precede  to  intensive 
studies  because  of  the  union's  use  of  this  as  an  excuse  for 
hazard  pay."  In  January  2000  a  White  House  review  of 
the  epidemiological  data  concluded  that  weapons  work- 
ers were,  indeed,  experiencing  excesses  of  cancers  and 
other  ills.  On  January  31,  2000,  The  New  York  Times  head- 
lined: "U.S.  Acknowledges  Radiation  Killed  Weapons 
Workers;  Ends  Decades  of  Denials."  In  mid-2000,  bipar- 
tisan legislation  was  introduced  to  compensate  workers 


and  survivors  who  suffered  from  the,  legal  '.    \nd  in  Sep- 

tembei  2000,  an  investigative  series  in  (  s\  Today 
reported  ih.it  beyond  the  still-unfolding  story  oi  i  overup 

and  harm  at  the  large  well-known  government  -owned 

and  contractor-operated  weapons  sites  (such  .> 

Ridge),  lies  the  hitherto  untold  story  of  deceit  and 
led  at  numerous  long  closed  and  forgotten  facilities 

owned  and  operated  by  t  on  traitors. 

Even  once  the  historic  al  a<  <  ounting  is  finally  settled, 

the  larger  issues  identified  hy  the  <  oinmittec  will  con- 
tinue to  require  vigorous  attention.  As  the  (  oinn. 

review  of  ongoing  research  (including  non-radiation 

research)  revealed,  many  of  the  issues  that  emerged  in 
the  context  of  radiation  research  resonate  in  today's 
ongoing  debates  and  headlines.  I  he  Committee,  tor 
example,  found  too  few  resources  devoted  to  oversight. 
Now,  news  reports  of  deficiencies  at  major  research  insti- 
tutions have  caused  the  review  and  shakeup  of  Federal 
oversight  bureaucracies.  The  Committee  found  that  left 
to  its  own  devices,  the  biomedical  community  did  not 
provide  adequate  disclosure  and  consent.  Now,  press 
investigation  indicates  serious  conflicts  of  interest  in  suh- 
ject  selection  in  research  funded  by  drug  companies, 
which  is  not  subject  to  direct  Federal  disclosure  regula- 
tion. The  Committee  found  serious  deficiencies  in 
research  where  the  interest  of  patients  and  doctors  in 
breakthroughs  may  lead  to  undue  researcher  optimism 
(as  in  novel  cancer  treatments).  Revelations  regarding 
genetic  experimentation  are  now  the  subject  of  official 
concern  and  attention. 

It  is  important  to  understand,  particularly  given 
today's  cynicism  about  government,  that  the  govern- 
ment led  in  the  recognition  of  the  ethical  principles 
involved  in  the  radiation  experiments.  In  addition  to  the 
early  articulation  of  informed  consent,  the  AEC  pio- 
neered the  institutionalization  of  risk  regulation  in 
human  subject  research.  However,  while  government 
leaders  pressed  their  principles  into  policy  in  some  cases, 
they  failed  in  others.  At  the  same  time,  the  biomedical 
research  community  did  not  itself  insist  on  a  principle  of 
consent  that  was,  as  we  have  seen,  well  within  its  grasp. 
The  consequences  have  been  lasting,  and  not  only  for 
the  patients.  As  the  Committee  found  repeatedly  during 
the  course  of  its  public  hearings,  even  in  those  cases 
where  the  government  and  researchers  did  act  responsi- 
bly, affected  citizens  testified  with  passion  that  they  did 
not  find  their  government  credible.   33 


Dan  Guttman  (dguttm.an@ari.net)  served  as  Executive 
Director  of  President  Clinton's  Advisory  Committee  on 
Human  Radiation  Experiments.  He  is  a  Fellow  at  the 
Center  for  the  Study  of  American  Government  at  Johns 
Hopkins,  and  counsels  the  union  ihat  is  the  primary 

REPRESENT.ATTVE  OF  HOURLY  WORKERS  AT  THE  NAHON'S  NUCLEAR 
WEAPONS  COMPLEX. 


32     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Global 

How  America's  Civil  Rights 
Struggle  Can  Help  Itself  by 
Helping  the  World 

by  Gay  McDougall 


The  movement  for  racial  justice  and  equality  in  this 
country  is  now  being  presented  with  a  unique  oppor- 
tunity to  "internationalize":  the  United  Nations  World 
(  onterence  Against  Racism,  Kauai  Discrimination, 
Xenophobia  and  Related  Intolerance.  The  World  <  on 
ference  Against  Racism  is  being  hosted  by  South  Africa, 
a  lining  venue  for  a  global  discussion  on  new  and  effe< 
live  approaches  to  combating  racism.  Hie  conference 
will  take  place  from  Augusl  Jl  to  September  7,  2001 , 

I  his  conference  will  be  more  than  just  a  one-time 
event.  It  is  a  global  process  that  civil  rights  organiza- 
tions and  soi  la]  justice  groups  in  the  I  Inited  states  can 
contribute  to  and  benefil  from  in  a  number  oi  ways. 
is.  groups  can  contribute  their  expertise  and  experi- 
ence, particularly  in  the  area  ol  dvil  rights  advocaq 
and  litigation.  At  the  same  time,  U.S.  groups  can  bring 
international  attention  to  the  problems  we  continue  to 

tace  in  this  countr\      from  hate  crimes,  racial  bias  in 

the  criminal  justice  system,  de  facto  segregation  in  pub- 
lic education  and  residential  patterns,  to  environmen- 
tal ra<  ism  and  xenophobia. 

I  he  I  f.S.  government's  record  on  iac  ism  is  being  held 
up  to  scrutiny,  and  U.S.  policies  on  such  importanl 


"( )//cc'  our  freedom  is  lifted  from  the  civil 

rights  label  to  the  level  of  human  rights, 

then  out  struggle  becomes  internationalized. " 

— Malcolm  X 

matters  as  affirmative  action,  reparations  and  hate 
speech  arc-  being  examined  tor  the  degree  to  which 
they  are  in  compliance  with  international  standards. 

Groups  that  participate  in  the  World  ( .onterence 
Vgainsl   Racism  process  will  be  able  to  monitor  the 

commitments  thai  the  U.S.  government  makes  in 

international  forums.  They  will  also  be  able  to  form 
international,  regional  and  national  networks  with 
other  groups  engaged  in  the  light  against  rac  ism. 

1  he  mam  themes  on  the  agenda  ol  the  World  (  on- 
terence Against  Racism  were  determined  by  govern- 
ment representatives  at  a  United  Nations  meeting  in 
May  2000,  with  considerable  input  from  non-govern- 
mental organizations.    I  he  agenda,  discussed  in  more 

detail  below,  will  be  further  developed  in  subsequent 

meetings.  While  the  U.S.  government  will  attempt  to 
downplay  certain  controversial  or  sensitive  topics, 
many  NCiOs  will  seek  to  place  all  the  relevant  issues  on 
the  World  (onterence  agenda. 

U.S.  groups  will  not  be  the  only  ones  pushing  lor  affir- 
mative action,  reparations,  environmental  justice,  oi 
criminal  justice  reform.  These  are,  in  fact,  international 
issues  and  national  priorities  for  the'  marginalized  mk\  the 
disenfranchised  in  mam  regions  ol  the  world,  such  as. 
Brazil,  India.  Nigeria,  the  I  fnited  Kingdom  and  elsewhere. 
Native  Americans  in  this  country  and  aboriginals  in  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand  will  put  forward  their  claims  to 
i  iiltiir.*!  and  land  rights  at  the  World  (  onterence  Against 
Racism.  Racial  minorities  in  the  U.S.  can  join  racial 
minorities  in  Spain  and  Sri  Lanka  in  demanding  equal 
a<  cess  to  education  and  employment.  Racist  immigration 
policies  in  the  U.S.,  Europe,  Australia,  and  Asia  will  be 
challenged  through  the  World  (  onterence  process,  as 

well  as  institutional  racism  in  corporate  America  and  in 
the  global  economy. 

Perhaps   the   most   important  opportunity  Ol   the 

World  (  onterence  Vgainsl  Racism  is  to  make  visible 

those  groups  and  communities  who  are  impacted  by 
racial  discrimination  but  who  are,  tor  the  most  part, 
"in\  isible,"  both  outside  and  within  their  countries  and 
regions.  The  descendants  "I   \Iih  an  slaves  in  countries 

such  as  (  olumbia,  Uruguay  and  other  parts  oi  Latin 
America,  the  Roma  (or  Gypsies)  in  (  entral  and  I  astern 

Europe,  and  the  Dalits  in  India,  are  some  ot  the  \  ictims 

oi  racism  who  have  received  relativel)  little  attention 
in  the  past.  I  Ik-  World  <  onterence  will  provide  a  forum 
lor   their   issues  to  emerge  onto  the   international 


laii  21 ournal     33 


agenda,  and  assume  greatei  prominence  and  urgencj 
both  Internationally  and  domestic  ally. 

idi  the  U.S.,  the  World  I  onference  Against  Racism 
(  hallenges  us  to  be  both  Inward  and  outward  looking, 
to  be  candid  .uhI  forthrighl  aboul  oui  problems,  to  be 
willing  to  learn  from  the  experiences  and  practices  of 
oilu'i  countries,  and  to  be  spec  Lfl(  and  at  tion  oriented 
in  our  plans  foi  the  future  while  coming  to  terms  with 
our  history.  II  it  is  to  take  the  World  (  onference  and  its 
objectives  seriously,  the  U.S.  government  will  nvcd  to 
examine  .i  number  oi  controversial  and  complex  issues. 

For  example,  under  the  tirst  theme  on  the  World 
<  onference  agenda  "Sources,  Clauses  and  Contempo- 
rary Manifestations  of  Racism"-  the  legacy  oi  slavery 

and  colonialism  is  an  unavoidable  issue  that  must  be 
addressed  by  the  U.S.  and  the  global  community.  I  he 
issue  ot  unequal  economic  development  and  the 
impact  ot  economic  globalization  will  also  feature 
prominently  in  the  World  Conference  discussions,  as 
will  other  "hot  button"  issues,  including  discrimina- 
tion on  the  basis  of  skin  color  (or  "white-skin  privi- 
lege"), criminalizing  hate  speech,  and  issues  relating  to 
racial  bias  in  the  criminal  justice  systems,  such  as  racial 
profiling,  sentencing  disparities  and  police  brutality. 


U.S.    GROUPS  CAN  BRING  INTERNATIONAL  ATTENTION 
TO  THE  PROBLEMS  WE  CONTINUE  TO  FACE  IN  THIS  COUNTRY 


The  second  theme  on  the  World  Conference 
agenda — "Victims  of  Racism" — will  be  an  opportunity 
to  consider  the  racial  dimensions  of  problems  that  are 
usually  analyzed  within  other  paradigms:  for  example, 
ethnic  conflicts  in  Bosnia  or  Rwanda;  denial  of  the 
rights  of  indigenous  populations,  including  Native 
Americans;  and  the  unique  experiences  faced  by 
women  suffering  discrimination  based  on  gender  com- 
pounded by  race. 

The  third  theme  on  the  World  Conference  agenda 
refers  to  "measures  of  prevention  and  protection 
against  future  acts  of  racism  and  racial  discrimination." 
This  is  the  forward-looking  segment  of  the  agenda. 
Having  identified  the  root  causes  of  racism,  the  ques- 
tion here  is  how  to  engineer  a  society  that  does  not 
generate  the  conditions  for  racism  in  the  future.  An 
important  part  of  this  discussion  will  be  addressing 
inequalities  with  respect  to  economic  rights,  an  issue 
that  the  U.S.  government  consistently  fails  to  acknowl- 
edge, particularly  in  international  forums.  The  United 
States  has  expressed  no  intention  to  ratify  the  Interna- 
tional Covenant  on  Economic,  Social  and  Cultural 
Rights,  which  obligates  governments  to  take  steps  to 
ensure  all  persons  the  right  to  an  adequate  standard  of 
living,  such  as  adequate  housing,  food  and  health  care. 
The  U.S.  government  will  be  called  upon  to  address  the 


i,k  i  thai  people  "i  i  "i"i  .i"  disproportionate!)  among 
th<  economically  disadvantaged  In  this  country.  It  is 
hoped  that  this  theme  will  also  include  a  lively  and 
.line  discussion  oi  positive  '•■■  the  Internet  and 

media 

Undei  the  fourth  Item  on  the  World  <  onferi 
agenda    "remedies,  recourse  and  redress  tor  rac  Ism" 

issues  sm  h  as  reparations  and  affirmative  a<  t ion  prom- 
ise to  be  al  the  centei  oi  debate  and  political  contro- 
versy. Importantly,  both  reparations  as  a  form  Oi  redress 
tin  gross  violations  oi  human  rights,  and  affirmative 
action  .is  a  "special  measure"  to  secure  the  adequate 
advancements  ot  certain  disadvantaged  groups  an 
Ognized  tenets  ol  international  human  rights  law.  I  he 
World  Conference  Against  Racism  will  challenge  the 
U.S.  government  to  face  these  issues  head-on.  I  here  is 
a  great  deal  to  be  learned  from  how  other  countries 
have  approached  and  dealt  with  these  issues. 

finally,  the  fifth  theme  on  the  World  Conference 
agenda  deals  with  strategies  to  strengthen  the  capacity 
of  international  organizations,  such  as  the  United 
Nations  and  the  Organization  of  American  States,  to 
play  a  constructive  role  in  eliminating  racism  world- 
wide. The  U.S.  government  will  need  to  examine  its  past 

and  current  level 
of  compliance 
with  international 
human  rights 
standards  against 
racism.  The  U.S. 
government  has  ratified  only  four  of  the  major  interna- 
tional human  rights  treaties:  the  International  Conven- 
tion on  Civil  and  Political  Rights,  the  Convention 
Against  Torture,  the  Convention  Against  Genocide,  and 
the  International  Convention  on  the  Elimination  of  All 
Forms  of  Racial  Discrimination  ("Race  Convention"  or 
"Convention"). 

The  Race  Convention,  ratified  by  the  U.S.  in  1994,  is 
a  cornerstone  of  the  World  Conference  Against  Racism. 
The  Convention  obligates  the  U.S.  to  (a)  refrain  from 
actions  that  create  or  perpetuate  patterns  of  racial  dis- 
crimination in  law  or  practice,  (b)  prohibit  discrimina- 
tion by  any  private  person,  group  or  organization,  (c) 
adopt  and  enforce  criminal  sanctions  for  racist  speech 
or  membership  in  racist  organizations,  (d)  guarantee  to 
everyone  equal  enjoyment  of  their  civil,  political,  eco- 
nomic, social  and  cultural  rights,  (e)  institute  affirma- 
tive actions,  policies  and  programs  when  warranted, 
and  (f)  ensure  effective  protection  and  remedies  against 
any  acts  of  racial  discrimination.  Countries  that  have 
ratified  the  Convention  must  submit  a  periodic  report 
to  the  United  Nations  Committee  on  the  Elimination 
of  Racial  Discrimination  (CERD),  which  oversees  com- 
pliance with  the  treaty.  The  reports  are  then  used  by 
CERD  to  assess  the  degree  to  which  the  governments 
have  met  their  obligations. 


34     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


PERHAPS  the  most  important  opportunity  of  the 
World  Conference  Against  Racism  is  to  make  visible 
those  groups  and  communities  who  are  impacted  by 

racial  discrimination  but  who  are,  for  the  most  part,  "invisible,"  both 

outside  and  within  their  countries  and  regions. 


Unfortunately,  when  the  U.S.  government  ratified  the 
i  onvention,  it  attached  a  number  ol  reservations, 
understandings  and  declarations  (RUDs)tothe  treaty,  in 
.m  effort  to  limit  the  extent  to  which  the  treat)  might 
expand  the  rights  ol  racial  minorities  under  existing  U.S. 
Liu  and  to  foreclose  access  to  U.S.  courts  to  enforce  those 
rights.  In  addition,  the  U.S.  government  has  not 
accepted  the  jurisdiction  ol  (  ERD  to  hear  individual 
complaints  ol  racial  discrimination,  pursuanl  to  Article 
14  ol  the  (  onvention.  In  connection  with  the  World 
(  onference,  the  United  States  will  be  called  upon  to 
review  and  remove  .ill  RUDs  taken  to  the  (  onvention,  as 
well  as  to  accede  to  Article  14.  accepting  ( lERD's  jurisdic- 
tion to  address  complaints  from  American  citizens  alleg- 
ing that  thej  arc  victims  ol  the  failure  ol  the  U.S.  gov- 
ernment to  fulfill  its  obligations  under  the  (  (invention. 

lo  its  credit,  the  (  linton  Administration  demon- 
strated an  Important  level  of  commitment  to  meeting 
its  human  rights  obligations  by  issuing  an  I  xecutive 
Order  on  the  Implementation  of  Human  Rights 
Ireaties.  I  he  Executive  order  created  an  Interagency 
Working  Group  to  coordinate  implementation  ol  treat) 
obligations,  to  develop  plans  tor  outreach  and  educa- 
tion, and  to  direct  an  annual  review  ol  RUDs  entered  by 
tin    l    S.  to  human  rights  treaties. 

I  he  I   linton    \dministration  also  gave  the  World 

(  onference  Vgainst  Racism  heightened  importance 
and  stature  by  moving  the  locus  ol  conference  plan- 
ning into  the'  ( >it ice  ol  the  White  House  Deputy  <  hie! 
ol  Staff,  and  by  establishing  the  White  House'  ["ask 
Force  on  the  World  (  onference.  ["he  I  ask  force  con- 
vened a  number  ol  meetings  around  the  countr)  to 

inform   \meric  ans  about  the  conference  .un\  to  sample 

public  opinion  on  each  ol  the  themes  on  the  agenda  ol 
the  World  I  onference.  1  lowever,  more  outrea<  h  efforts 
are  needed  to  ensure  thai  the  American  publii  is  made 

aware  ol  the'  World  (  onlcrence  and  given  the  opportu- 
ne to  contribute  to  the  development  ol  I   S   polic) 

With  respec  t  to  the  c  onlerellc  e. 

[lie  U.S.  will  be  a  major  player  in  the  World  <  onfei 
ence  \g.nnst  Racism  through  its  role  as  an  Influential 
member  ol  the  I  fnited  Nations  and  through  its  histori- 
cal and  currenl  practices  (both  positive  and  negative) 
dealing  with  race-related  issue's.  I  his  countr)  has  .1  lot 
to  offer  the'  world  through  the  World  <  onference 
process,  is  anti-discrimination  legislation  is  among 


the  most  comprehensive-  m  the  world,  prohibiting  dis- 
crimination b)  puhlu  and  private  actors  in  housing, 

employment,  education,  voting  and  access  to  public 
accommodations.  I  he  U.S.  also  has  a  vibrant,  exten- 
sive and  sophisticated  NGO  sector,  as  well  as  national 
institutions  that  can  provide  a  model  tor  establishing  or 

Improving  similar  institutions  in  other  countries. 

For  the  U.S.  to  make  substantial  contributions  to  the 
gl<  ibal  c  ampaign  against  ra<  ism,  and  lor  it  to  expand  its 
own  repertoire  of  effective  strategies  to  eliminate  ra<  ial 
disc  rimination,  it  must  fully  engage  in  and  support  the 
World  (  onference  Against  Racism.  I  he  U.S.  govern- 
ment should  send  prestigious  individuals  as  its  delega- 
tion to  the  World  Conference'  and  preparator)  meet- 
ings, file  delegation  should  include  both  government 
and  non-government  members  who  have  demon- 
strated expertise  in  combating  racism.  At  the  World 
(  onlcrence,  the  U.S.  should  push  tor  all  governments 

to  make  specific  commitments  and  set  measurable 

goals  tor  actions  they  will  take  to  eradicate  rac  ism  and 
ra<  ial  discrimination  within  then  countries. 

I  he  World  Conference  pioccss  can  be  a  major  step 
toward  bridging  the  gap  between  the  movement  to  com- 
bat i.ic  ism  globally  and  what  we  refer  to  here  as  the  I  I.S. 

civil  rights  movement.  If  it  is  taken  seriouslv  and  pursued 

with  commitment  and  a  willingness  to  take  important 
vel  controversial  issues  head-on,  the  World  (  onlcrence 
Against  Racism  can  jM  new  momentum  to  the  move- 
ment !( >r  rac  ial  justice  and  equality  in  the  I  I.S.     0 

(iAY  M<  DOIGALI.  IS  Nil  IXHIIIVI  DIKK  lOROl  llll  INTER- 
NATIONA] Hi  MAN  Rloiiis  I  vw  GROUP  AND  A  RECENT  Kl  *  iri- 
ENTOl    \  M«  (  lARTHUR  VWARD. 

//  you  would  like  to  receive  a  copy  of  the  International 
Human  Rights  Law  Group's  "<  ombating  Racism  Together: 
\  Guide  to  the  (  \  World  (  onference  Against  Racism"  <>i 
"The  Report  <>l  the  Bellagio  <  onsultation  on  the  World 
(  onference  Against  Racism"  (both  available  in  English, 
Spanish,  French  and  Portuguese),  please  visit  the  website  <>t 
the  International  llannm  Rights  Law  Group  nt: 
www.hrlawgronp.org.  Ot  send  <>  written  request  to: 
Alison  v  siew  iii  1,  Special  Projects  (  oordinator,  Interna- 
tional Human  Rights  Law  Group,  1200  18th  Street,  NW, 
Suite  602,  Washington,  D(  20036  Fax:202-822 
I  mail:  AlisonS@HRLawGroup.org 


I. ill  2000      1  1  IS 


Putting   a   Lock   on  Justice 


bv  Carl  M.  Cannon 


This  autumn,  earlier  than  expected,  the  United  States 
attained  the  dubious  milestone  of  having  put  behind 
bars  some  2  million  ol  the  people  living  within  its  hin- 
ders. This  is  twice  the  number  of  a  decade  ago,  and  the 
end  is  not  in  sight.  The  incarceration  rate  is  still  increas- 
ing yearly. 

The  trends  fueling  this  upsurge  are  not  an  explosion 
in  crime,  which  declined  markedly  in  the  decade  of  the 
1990s  to  pre- 1970  levels,  but  rather  the  enactment,  in  a 
piecemeal  fashion,  of  a  vast  array  of  state  and  federal  leg- 
islation that  constituted  nothing  less  than  a  radical  over- 
haul of  the  nation's  myriad  criminal  justice  systems. 

These  changes  started  on  the  street,  where  a  doctrine 
known  as  "community  policing"  gave  way  to  a  less  sen- 
timental method  known  in  law  enforcement  circles  as 
"pro-active"  policing.  This  no-nonsense  approach, 
implemented  most  famously  in  New  York  City,  is  the 
cops'  answer  to  James  Q.  Wilson's  famous  "broken  win- 
dow" theory  of  crime  prevention.  Under  this  theory,  pro- 
active police  do  not  ignore  broken  windows,  or  loitering 
by  suspicious-looking  young  people — or  jaywalking,  for 
that  matter.  Typically,  those  seen  as  potential  trouble- 
makers— and  race  has  often  been  shown  to  be  a  factor  in 
who  gets  stopped  by  the  police — are  detained  and 
frisked.  The  illegal  weapons  that  turn  up  in  such  pat- 
downs  no  longer  result  in  the  weapon  merely  being  con- 
fiscated, but  in  felony  charges  against  the  offenders. 

In  the  courts,  the  changes  of  the  last  15  years  are  even 
more  sweeping. 

Those  legislatively  mandated  changes  include 
"mandatory  minimum"  sentences  for  an  array  of 
offenses,  including  firearms  convictions  and  drug  cases; 
the  adoption  of  "truth  in  sentencing"  statutes,  which 
lengthens  the  minimum  a  prisoner  must  serve;  the  vir- 
tual abolition  of  parole  in  many  states;  longer  prescribed 
prison  sentences  for  most  felonies;  the  systematic  lower- 
ing of  the  age  juveniles  can  be  tried  as  adults;  and, 
finally,  a  proliferation  of  "three  strikes  and  you're  out" 
laws.  These  measures,  all  pursued  under  the  banner  of 
fighting  crime,  were  enacted  by  legislatures  horn  Maine 
to  Alaska  and  ratified  by  governors  as  conservative  as 
Republican  John  Sununu  of  New  Hampshire  and  as  lib- 
eral as  Democrat  Ann  Richards  of  Texas.  Likewise,  the 


K 


m\ 


Federal  versions  of  these  laws  passed  Congress  whether 
Democrats  had  control  or  whether  Republicans  were  in 
the  majority.  They  were  signed  into  law  by  Ronald  Rea- 
gan and  George  Bush;  they  were  signed  into  law  by  Bill 
Clinton  as  well.  In  the  election  of  2000,  neither  Vice 
President  Al  Gore,  nor  Texas  Governor  George  W.  Bush 
ever  raised  their  voices  in  any  opposition  to  the  nation's 
rush  to  incarcerate.  Quite  the  contrary,  both  enunciated 
their  support  for  it  and,  when  discussing  crime,  advo- 
cated policies  that  would  add  to  it. 

Because  this  is  an  election  year,  a  great  deal  of  atten- 
tion has  been  focused  in  recent  months  on  the  Texas 


36     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


The   Hidden   Costs   of   Disproportionately 
Incarcerating   Minorities 


Handcuffed  black  man  at  police  station,  1 947. 

The  incarceration  rate  in 

America  doubled  in  the 

1980s  —  and  then  doubled  again 

IN   THE    1990S. 


death  penalty  system.  That  spotlight  appears  to  have 
lessened  public  support  tor  capital  punishment,  albeit 
only  slightly.  But  its  real  value  may  have  been  that  it 
shed  some  light  into  the  shadows  of  the  rest  ot  the  crim- 
inal justice  system,  the  vast  majority  ot  ulm  h  deals  with 
non-capital  cases.  And  the  picture  it  illuminated  wasn't 
pretty.  During  the  furoi  over  the  Garj  Graham  execu- 
tion, for  example,  it  was  disquieting  to  learn  that  even  in 
a  case  that  threw  the  Hush  campaign  oft  its  game  and 
generated  international  interest,  the  lexas  parole  board 
didn't  bother  to  meet  in  person  before  faxing— faxing— 
in  its   ll>-(>  decision  not  to  intervene.  It  doesn't  take 

much  imagination  to  envision  the  level  of  scrutiny  this 
parole  board  gives  to  clemency  requests  in  non-capital 
cases.  Indeed,  the  utter  lack  of  interest  authorities  display 
in  determining;  who  among  their  inmates  are  worthy  ot 
release  appears  to  be  the  norm  everywhere: 

■  In  Virginia,  under  the  administration  ot  two  Republi- 
can governors,  ( ieorge  Allen  and  lames  dilmore,  the 
state  has  all  but  eliminated  parole  tor  new  inmates. 
Virginia's  parole  board  has,  in  fact,  applied  this  law 
retroactively  as  well — even  in  the  faceol  statutory  and 
judicial  mandates  that  it  not  do  so.  In  practice, 
inmates  with  perfect  records  routinely  see  their  peti- 
tions tor  parole  dismissed  with  the  vaguest  and  most 
general  language:  "Hoard  needs  to  see  further  devel- 
opment to  warrant  parole,"  or  "Release  at  this  time 
wc  mid  diminish  seriousness  of  the  offense." 

■  In  (  alifornia,  GOV.  (>rav  Davis  has  gotten  crosswise 
with  bis  state's  Supreme  Court  by  thumbing  his  nose 
at  the  state's  parole  provisions  and  simply  forbidding 
his  state's  Board  ot  I'rison  lerms  from  eva  releasing 
any  inmate  coin  acted  ol  homicide, 

It  is  instructive  to  note  that  in  doing  so  Governor 
Davis  is  carrying  out  a  campaign  pledge  be  made  when 
he  ran  tor  office,  a  fact  that  underscores  the  popularity 
these  law-and-order  measures  have  with  the  voting  pub- 
lic.   I  hese  policies  are  cheerfully  carried  out  bv   elected 

prosecutors    and  ratified  on  a  daily  basis  bv  juries,  rhe 

stiav  1  edeial  |udge  protests  here  and  there  at  the  lack  ot 
dist  retion  trial  judges  are  accorded  under  the  law,  but  the 

Supreme  <  ouri  has  not  put  the  brakes  on  any  ot  it  and 
the  harsh  approach  to  law-and-ordei  scores  well  In 
nearly  even  public  opinion  poll  dom  on  the  subject 


Fall  2001  il     <7 


ill*.-  upshot  is  thai  aftei  holding  relatively  steady  foi 
hall  a  century,  the  Incarceration  rate  In  America  doubled 
in  the  1980s  and  then  doubled  again  In  the  1990s.  As 
the  United  States  enters  .1  new  millennium  In  an  era  ol 
unprecedented  prosperity,  11  is  the  midst  ol  an  Incongru- 
ous boom  In  prison  construction,  ["he  boom  has  pro- 
duced .1  new  industry,  privately  owned  prisons,  and  .1 
now  force  in  American  politics:  the  prison  guards  unions. 
Perhaps  most  serious,  the  quadrupling  ol  the  incarcera- 
tion rate  It. is  ,ilso  worsened  one  <>i  the  most  depressing 
legacies  <>t  ra(  ism  in  this  nation,  the  historical  disparity  in 
ethnic  makeup  ol  the  prison  popul.it  ion.  In  state  and  Fed- 
era]  prisons,  African  Americans,  who  constitute  12  per- 
cent of  the  tuition's  population,  comprise  48  percent  ol 
the  inmate  population.  Latinos  make  up  19  percent  of 
those  in  prison,  more  than  twice  their  numbers  in  society. 
Among  the  nation's  approximately  4()(),()()()  jail  inmates, 
the  numbers  are  only  slightly  less  disproportionate. 


Prison  sentences  are  not  only 

LONGER,   BUT  STATE  AND  FEDERAL 
GOVERNMENTS  HAVE  ENSURED  THAT  THE 


TIME  IS  HARDER  TO  DO  AS  WELL. 


In  defense  of  such  numbers,  law  and  order  advocates 
make  two  broad  assertions: 

First,  they  insist  as  an  article  of  faith  that  the  rise  in 
incarceration  is  directly  responsible  for  the  current, 
seven-year  downward  trend  in  violent  crime  in  this 
country.  Certainly  the  voting  public  subscribes  to  that 
view,  and  their  elected  officials  follow  suit.  Second,  in 
response  to  the  racial  dimensions  of  this  issue,  the  archi- 
tects of  the  incarceration  boom  maintain  that  since 
minorities  are  disproportionately  tbe  victims  of  crime, 
policies  that  remove  perpetrators  from  the  street  do  a 
tremendous  service  to  the  minority  community. 

Both  of  these  claims  appear  to  have  a  straightforward 
logic  to  them,  but  almost  none  of  the  nation's  promi- 
nent criminologists  believe  that  the  equation  between 
the  incarceration  rate  and  the  crime  rate  is  that  simple. 
And  even  if  there  is  some  truth  in  the  second  point, 
there  are  also  associated  costs  to  a  national  policy  that 
locks  up  such  a  disproportionate  number  of  blacks  and 
Hispanics.  It  is  past  time  for  the  nation's  policy-makers  to 
openly  acknowledge  these  costs  and  to  begin  a  serious 
discussion  of  some  remedies. 


The  Disproportionate  Impact 

in  the  19th  century,  Southern  legislatures  delitx  1 
tailored  the  law  so  thai  statutes  considered  to  i»  1 
most  likely  to  be  violated  by  bla<  is  were  those  thai  1  ar- 
in. 1  added  san<  dons,  su<  h  .is  forfeiting  tin-  right  t 
or  to  beat  .inns  on  release  from  prison    \t  the  dawn  oi 
the  2lst  century,  disparities  m  the  treatment  oi 
and  hi, u  k  defendants  are  ckx  umented  .it  every  ph 
the  ( riminal  |ustice  system  from  arrest  through  parole 

1  he  most  well-known  example,  the  penalties  foi 
cocaine,  was  denounced  almost  as  soon  as  it  became 
apparent  thai  it  was  an  unintended  consequence  of  the 

l(>8n  crime  hill.  I  lilac  ks  disproportionately  use  cocaine  m 
its  crack  form;  whites  in  its  powder  form.)  And  yet, 
despite  acknowledgment  Irom  the  bill's  authors  of  its 
awful  price  among  black  offenders,  despite  the  fact  that 
the  U.S.  Sentencing  Commission  recommended  in  1995 


Prisoner  at  Rikers  Island. 


that  it  be  rectified,  despite  promises  from  both 
Democrats  and  Republicans  that  it  would  be  fixed,  the 
law  remains  that  it  takes  100  times  as  much  powder 
cocaine  as  crack  to  get  the  same — mandatory — prison 
sentence  in  Federal  court. 

Law  and  order  hardliners,  even  while  admitting  the 
law  is  unfair,  say  that  the  crack-powder  disparity  is  an 
anomaly.  But  it  isn't.  The  government's  own  statistics 
suggest  that  blacks  comprise  13  percent  of  the  nation's 
illegal  drug  users,  which  is  about  right,  considering  they 
are  12  percent  of  the  population.  But  they  constitute  38 
percent  of  the  drug  arrests  and  59  percent  of  those  con- 
victed of  drug  crimes.  And  the  average  sentence  in  state 
courts,  where  judges  have  wide  latitude,  is  27  months  for 
white  defendants  and  46  months  for  blacks.  Given  that 
60  percent  of  all  inmates  serving  time  in  Federal  prison 
are  drug  offenders — up  from  25  percent  in  1980 — and 
that  the  racial  disparities  are  only  getting  worse,  is  it  any 
surprise  that  increasing  numbers  of  citizens  view  the 
"war  on  drugs"  as  a  war  on  blacks? 

"These  racial  disparities  are  a  national  scandal,"  said 
Ken  Roth,  executive  director  of  Human  Rights  Watch,  an 


38     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


International  human  rights  organization.  "Black  and 
white  drug  offenders  gel  radically  different  treatment  in 
the  American  justice  system.  I  his  is  not  only  profoundly 
unfair  to  blacks,  it  also  corrodes  the  American  Ideal  ol 
equal  justice  tor  all 

It's  not  only  the  drug  war  that  is  having  a  dispropoi 
donate  Impad  on  blacks  and  Hispanics.  restifying 
before  .1  House  subcommittee  011  Mav  1  1,  2000,  |ohn  R. 
Steer,  vice  chairman  ol  the  U.S.  Sentencing  (  ommis- 
sion,  painted  .1  stark  picture  ol  what  impact  the  nation's 
"mandatory  minimums"  have  on  minorities.  Since 
199;-$,  the  percentage  ol  mandatory  minimum  cases  in 
which  tin-  defendant  is  white  has  decreased  from  30 
percent  to  24  percent.  But  Hispanics  have  experienced 
a]\  increase  from  33  to  39  percent — roughly  the  same 
percentage  as  African  Americans.  And  while  the  per- 
centage ol  black  defendants  has  evened  ott  tor  the  last 
three  years,  they  are  also  much  more  likely  to  receive 
the  harshest  categories  of  those  mandatory  mini  mums. 
Foi  cases  in  which  there  is  a  20-year  mandatory  mini- 
mum term,  blacks  were  the  defendant  in  a  stunning  60 
percent  ot  the  cases.  That's  a  long  time  away  from 
home. 

The  Cost  to  Families 

On  August  30, 2000,  the  U.S.  Bureau  ol  justice  Statistics 

released  a  stud}  showing  that  some  1.5  million  children 
had  at  least  one  parent  in  a  state  or  Federal  prison  in 

1999,  an  increase  ol  60  percent  since  1991.  Halt  those 
children  are  black.  The  criminal  justice  system,  of  course, 
makes  no  provisions  for  those  kids,  even  those  who  have 
single  moms  as  parents  and  even  when  those  mothers 
are  incarcerated  tor  long  stretches  of  time  tor  "victimless 
crimes,"  such  as  drug  possession.  (The  $30  billion 
omnibus  crime  bill  passed  by  Congress  in  1994  and 
signed  by  (  Linton  contained  money  for  a  prison  facility 
that  was  supposed  to  house  inmate  mothers  with  their 
infants  and  toddlers,  it  has  never  been  built.)  I  bus,  state 
and  local  social  agencies  are  supposed  to  assume  the  bur- 
den. But  they  aren't.  In  Louisiana,  the  state  with  the 
highest  incarceration  rate  in  the  country,  Judy  Watts, 
president  ot  Agenda  lor  a  New  Orleans  child  advocac} 
group,  says  those  agencies  are  simply  overwhelmed  bv 
the  needs  ot  children  with  parents  in  prison 

"These  are  children  who  m.x-d  verv  carelul  attention 
and  nurturing,  .md  unfortunately,  they  are  often  not  get- 
ting it,"  she-  said.  "  I  he  government  is  sending  these'  peo- 
ple away  to  prison,  but  the  government  is  not  pic  king  up 
the  slack  tor  their  children  in  any  way  whatsoever." 

lo  be  sure,  some  ol  these  i  Inldren  are  bettei  oil  with- 
out violent  or  drug  abusing  parents  in  the  household,  but 
as  julie  Stewart,  tounder  and  president  ot  Organization 

called  Families  Against  Mandatory  Minimums,  points 
out,  1 1  the  1  ederal  government  is  going  to  be  so  aggressive 

in    removing    these    parents    from    societv  -tor   drug 


crimes — it  ought  to  concern  itsell  with  the  wreckage  it 

leaves  behind  m  the  limn  ol  shattered  family  groups. 

keeping  these  family  units  in  contact,  providing  mental 
health  benefits  fol  the  family  members,  counseling  and 
mentors  for  the  children,  and  offering  serv  ices  to  re-inte- 
grate  the  family  upon  the  release  ot  the  parent  all  these 
obvious  needs  are  not  being  addressed  on  a  federal  level. 
"(  ongress  is  so  very  shortsighted,"  Stewart  laments.  "  I  he 
entire  emphasis  is  on  taking  people  oil  the  street  and 
incarcerating  them.  The  children  are  always  forgotten." 

I  hose  are  the  etlects  of  laws  passed  by  (  ongress  and 
signed  into  law  bv  President  Bush  and  President  ( Tnton. 
And  while'  it  never  pays  for  a  politician  to  be  seen  as 
"si  ill "  on  c  rime,  to  the  little  ones  whose  lives  are  turned 

upside  down  by  such  draconian  sentencing  laws,  the 

world  can  seem  unforgiving  indeed. 

"President  Clinton,  can  you  please  talk  to  the 
judge...?"  implored  1 1 -year-old  (  rystalle  Jada  Warren  in 
a  recent  letter.  "If  hcge>es  to  jail  tor  a  long  time,  I'll  never 
get  to  spend  any  time  with  him  again." 

Nine-year-old  Hmerson  Chamberlain  also  sent  a  mis- 
sive to  the  White  House.  "My  Dad  is  in  jail  and  my  fam- 
ily needs  him  home,"  the  boy  wrote.  "\lv  little  baby 
brother  needs  his  Dad  and  so  do  1." 

I  he  most  poignant  cases  of  all  are  those  where  single 
mothers  fall  victim  to  drug  prosecutions,  often  tor  doing 
the  bidding  of  a  husband  or  boyfriend  in  the  drug  trade. 
One  such  defendant,  Monica  Clybum  ol  Sarasota,  I  la., 
had  four  children,  none  of  whom  has  any  recollection  ol 
their  mother  not  being  behind  bars.  I  hey  live  with  their 
maternal  grandmother  an  hour-and-forty-five  minute 
drive  from  the  prison.  The  oldest,  Crystal,  cries  herself  to 
sleep  nights.  The  mother  was  sentenced  to  15  years 
under  a  federal  mandatory  minimum  for  gun  posses- 
sion, although  she  was  actually  caught  pawning  a  gun 
that  had  never  been  used  and  which  she  swore  was  her 
boyfriend's.  The  U.S.  Attorney  in  Tampa,  Florida, 
asserted  two  years  ago  that  she  never  made  that  claim  at 
trial;  a  sentencing  transcript  proves  him  wrong. 

"God  has  been  good  to  us,"  Monica's  mother  Naomi 
told  me,  "but  I  do  know  that  these  children  need  their 
mom." 

All  ol  these  hardships  on  the  families  ol  convicted 
felons,  ol  course,  are  exacerbated  by  a  growing  practice 
in  modern  American  jurisprudence:  the  exporting  of 
prisoners  from  one  state  to  another  for  the  simple  expe- 
diency of  prison  space — often  private  prison  space  built 
fol  the  express  purpose  of  making  a  profit.  I  he  most 
egregious  example  ol  the  c  aprie  iousness  ol  this  svstcm 
is  right  in  the  nation's  capital.  With  the  gradual  closing 
ol  1  orton  Prison,  located  in  nearby  1  airfax  <  ounty,  Va., 
convicts  from  Washington,  D.C.— almost  all  of  whom 
are  black — are  now  simply  processed  into  the'  Federal 
prison  system,  some  ticketed  te>  de>  their  time  as  far 
away  as  New  Mexico.  It  is  a  poliev  that  seems  calculated 
to  sabotage  the  bonds  between  inmates  and  their  fam- 


l.ill  2000      <  ml  Rights  fournal     39 


Figure  1.  Incarceration  Rales,  United  States,  1925-97 

Numbri  <>l  inmates  \enlenwd  under  Mate  and  federal 

jurisdictions  pei  100,000  residents 


1925  1935  1945  1955  1965  1975  1985  1995 

SOURCE:  Notional  Institute  ol  luslice. 

NOTE:  In  1 996,  the  breakdown  by  race  and  ethnicity  was  as  follows: 
195  incarcerated  per  100,000  for  whites;  675  per  100,000  for 
Hispanics;  and  1650  per  100,000  for  blacks. 

Figure  2.  Characteristics  of  persons  in  State  and 
Federal  prisons  by  race,  1 923-97 


1923         1933         1950         1960         1970         1980         1990         1997 
SOURCE:  National  Institute  of  lustice. 

Figure  3.  Federal  prison  sentences  by  race,  1986-97 


1986  1990 

SOURCE:  The  Urban  Institute. 


NOTE:  Analysts  say  the  growth  in  the  disparity  is  primarily  due  to 
the  crack/powder  cocaine  penalty  gap. 


ilk-v  "Ifyou'n  going  to  loci  people  up,  lock  them  up 
In  their  communll  rodd  Clear,  a  criminologist 

at  |ohn  [aj  (  ollege  In  '•<-■••  Ybrl  They're)  lose  totheii 
families,  and  Ifs  easiei  to  transition  them  ba«  k  Into  the 
neighborhood." 

The  Cost  to  Neighborhoods 

Professor  <  lear  is  one  oi  the  most  prominent  i  riminol- 

ovists  in  this  country  to  have  begun  to  document 
of  the  negative  effects  oi  the  wholesale  removal  oi 
young  males  from  African  American  communities. 
Law-and-order  advocates  point  out  thai  when  chronk 

offenders  are  taken  away  from  a  community,  that  com- 
munity is  spared  the  considerable  costs  that  their 
future  crimes  would  have  exacted  on  business,  homes 
and  individuals.  This  is  not  a  trivial  concern,  to  be  sure, 
but  it  is  not  the  whole  story. 

One  flaw  to  the  throw-away-the-key  model  is  that 
society  doesn't  really  throw  away  the  key  forever. 
When  offenders  are  released  from  prison,  they  often 
return  to  their  home  communities,  and  do  so  without 
increased  skills — if  anything,  their  skills  and  work 
habits  have  atrophied  in  prison — and  with  chips  on 
their  shoulders. 

"Take  the  re-offender,"  says  Delray  Beach,  F'la.  police 
captain  William  McCollom.  "Ideally  someone  serves 
their  time  and  is  able  to  return  to  the  whole,"  he  says. 
"But  we  know  that  is  not  happening."  Instead,  the  ex- 
con  returns  to  a  blighted  community  where  his  job 
prospects  are  compromised  and  where  his  reputation  is 
tarnished. 

New  laws  have  only  made  this  problem  worse.  The 
1994  crime  bill  ended  the  practice  that  allowed  Federal 
prisoners  to  qualify  for  Pell  grants  so  they  could  take 
college  courses  behind  bars.  This  may  be  one  of  the 
more  self-defeating  bills  Congress  has  ever  passed. 

"Every  single  study  shows  that  the  more  education 
you  have,  the  less  the  crime,"  says  Marc  Mauer,  assis- 
tant director  of  The  Sentencing  Project,  and  author  of 
The  Race  to  Incarcerate.  "So  what  do  they  do?  Cut  edu- 
cation for  inmates."  This  is  typical  of  the  incarceration 
boom:  Prison  sentences  are  not  only  longer,  but  state 
and  Federal  governments  have  ensured  that  the  time  is 
harder  to  do  as  well.  And  despite  claims  from  its  law 
and  order  defenders  that  rates  of  recidivism  would 
decline  as  prison  life  became  harsher,  the  exact  oppo- 
site appears  to  be  happening. 

But  even  if  the  net  impact  were  positive,  Professor 
Clear  has  shown  that  when  large  groups  of  young  men 
are  removed  from  their  communities,  it  leaves  a  gap  in 
those  communities  even  if  those  men  were  commit- 
ting crimes.  "It  changes  the  structure  of  the  neighbor- 
hood," he  says.  "Imagine  a  place  with  no  men.  The 
people  in  the  community  lose  all  the  things  that  men 
do.  Crime,  yes,  but  the  good  things,  too." 


40     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Typically,  the  loss  oi  the  male  adult  requires  a 
woman  and  her  children  to  change  housing,  usually 
moving  to  a  more  crowded  accommodation,  [his  often 
necessitates  changing  schools,  it  often  leaves  an 
urn  Hue  gap,  as  these  men,  even  those  actively  pursuing 
crime  usually  have  some  sort  ol  part-time  emplo\  merit 
or  off-the-books  income,  income  they  share  with  the 
kids  in  the  familj  unit  "The  men  sent  to  jail  usually 
have  done  a  lot  of  bad  things  in  the  previous  year," 
(  lear  says.  "Most  of  them  have  done  a  lot  of  good 
things,  too.  When  you  incarcerate,  you  are  taking  awa\ 
the  had  as  well  as  the  good." 

A  model  attracting  a  smattering  of  attention  in  this 
country  holds  that  these  men  must  he  seen  as  commu- 
nit\  "assets"  instead  ot  community  burdens.  Under  the 
umbrella  term  "community  justice,"  various  localities 
are  experimenting  with  ways  to  implement  this  theory, 
ranging  from  diversionary  drug-treatment  clinics  to 
requiring  men  to  perform  restitution  or  community 
service  In  lieu  oi  warehousing  them  in  a  far-away  jail 
cell. 

In  the  meantime,  black  and  latino  mothers  across 
tins  country  have  instituted  a  poignant  ritual  that  has 
no  name:  Saturday  sessions  where  children  are  broughl 
ti  >  the  jail  to  receive  advice  or  even  discipline  from  their 
father  or  father  figure.  In  this  way,  do  the  women  left  to 
fend  for  themselves  during  the  incarceration  boom  do 
their  part  to  try  and  keep  their  communities  together. 
i  \nd  these,  as  we  have  seen,  are  the  less  unfortunate 
ones:  Main  relatives  now  face  cross-country  trips  they 
can  make  only  a  few  times  a  year,  i 

The  Cost  to  the  Nation 

In  the  pro*  ess .  it  implementing  its  drug  war  and  incar- 
ceration policies,  the  federal  government  has  sent  a 
harsh,  it  unintended,  message,  to  poor  latino  and  black 
males  in  this  country.  That  message  is  blunt:  We  kind  of 
expe<  t  that  you  will  rotate  through  the  criminal  justice 
system  at  some  point  m  vour  early  lives.  Hut  evidence 
mounts  that  this  is  society's  self-fulfilling  prophesy.  In 
minority  neighborhoods  ranging  from  latino  barrios 

ot  San  lose,  (  alii.,  to  all-black  enclaves  in  West  Haiti- 
more,  prison  holds  no  stigma  tor  the  simple  reason  that 

SO  main  ot  the  young  men  from  the  neighborhood  end 
up  there.  I  he  Southern  (  alilornia-based  Mexican  Mafia 
is,  in  tact,  a  prison  Kane;  that  operates  on  both  sides  ot 
I  he  Wall  and  whose  members  wear  tattoos  that  consti- 
tute a  kind  ol  human  graffiti  announc  Ing  that  they've 
been  to  prison— or  expec  t  tOgO  when  they  are  older. 

"I've  talked  to  mam  kids,  and  they  tell  me  thai 

going  to  prison  is  like  goiiiK  Into  the  \rniv  was  tor  the 

previous  generation,"  says  Barry  Krisberg,  president  oi 

the  San   FranciSCO-based  National  (  ouncil  on  I   nine 

and  Delinquency.  "Prison  doesn't  scare  them  because 

almost  everyone  the)  know  has  been  to  prison  " 


c  Hher  impacts  affect  us  all.  What  is  to  be  made  of  the 

lac  t  thai  oi  a  voting-age  population  ol  less  than  1 1  mil- 
lion, something  like  1.5  million  blacks  have  lost  the' 
franchise?  Or  thai  the  Federal  government's  statistics 
tor  minority  unemployment  have  become'  skewed  to 
look  more  favorable  than  they  really  are  because  those 
behind  bars  are  not  counted.'  l-'.ven  on  a  strictly  cost- 
In  'iielit  analysis,  our  incarceration  policies  have  become 
self-defeating. 

Changes  Are  Needed 

Asserting  that  racial  bias  "infects"  every  state  of  the 
criminal  justice  process,  the  National  Association  of 
Criminal  Defense  Lawyers  has  targeted  five  specific 
areas  thai  \twd  changing.  I  he  reforms  they  advocate 
start  with  curbing  the  disproportionate  number  of 
minorities  improperly  stopped  by  law  enforcement  offi- 
cials on  a  pretext  or  on  some  overly-broad,  generic 
"profile"  basis.  They  end  with  a  call  for  "determining 
the  appropriateness"of  death  penalty  statutes  meted 
out  disproportionately  to  blacks.  Until  such  reforms  are 
addressed,  the  United  States  can  expect  to  reap  what  it 
is  sowing  in  the  minority  communities.  That  crop 
includes: 

■  Hundreds  of  black  and  Latino  neighborhoods 
where  large  numbers  of  the  men  cannot  vote  and 
have  no  political  clout. 

■  A  common  perception  among  African  Americans 
that  police  departments  are  a  hostile  torce,  with 
their  own  rules  of  conduct,  and  that  those  rules 
allow  for  quicker  arrests  and  harsher  use  of  force 
against  blacks. 

■  A  whole  generation  of  black  and  latino  boys  who 
lack  role  models  in  their  own  households  or 
neighborhoods. 

■  [he  tad  that  these  boys  must  make  the  intellec- 
tual choice  between  believing  that  a)  their  father 
is  a  problem  or  b)  the  criminal  justice  system  is  a 
problem. 

"Whuh  do  you  think  they  choose.'"  asks  Professor 

(  leai.  "  I  hat  one  is  a  no-brainer."    j  □ 


(  \ki  Cannon  c  o\ iks  mi  Winn  llousi  VNDNATIONAI 
POLITICS  FOR  NATIOH  U  /Ol  RAMI,  V  WEEKLY  WASHINGTON 
MAGAZIN1  i  nvi  RING  POl  [TICS  AND  GOV!  RNMENT.  In  1998, 

ins  \i\c\/i\i  it  in  isiilii  His  (  OVER  STORY,    "STAC!  'EM 

Deep,"  \  <  nun  \i  examination  oi  mi  hugi  increasi  in 

mi   i\<  U'i  1  RATION  RATI  .    1  \ri  II  R  nils  Yl  \r.  Mr.  (    VNNON 

w  n  H  i  v  cover  prea  porNationai  Review  magazini 

HEADLINED  "Tin   PROBI  EM  WITH  THE  CHAIR,"  A  CRITIQUE  Ol 
c  UTTA1  PI  NISHMENT.  HE  CAN  BE  REACHED  B\  E-MAII    \i 
(  i   VNNON@NATIONAI  l< 'i  RNAI  A  OM. 


l-all  2(MMi      (  ivil  I  rial     41 


by  Richard  Cizik 


The  Way  Ahead 


"Since  when  is  religion  a  human  right?"  remarked  an 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State  for  Human  Rights  to  Presi- 
dent Jimmy  Carter.  This  revealing  of  a  blind  spot 
occurred  in  the  late  70s,  when  religion  was  not  consid- 
ered a  significant  factor  in  foreign  policy.  Some  of  that 
ill-informed  skepticism  about  religion  still  persists;  it 
confronts  an  already  successful  initiative  of  civic  cooper- 
ation  between  government  and  faith-based  groups 
which  is  occurring  under  "charitable  choice"  welfare  leg- 
islation. We  hope  that  opponents  will  gradually  recog- 
nize the  merits  and  tremendous  potential  of  charitable 
choice. 

Charitable  choice,  since  1996  in  Fed- 
eral law  and  in  practice  in  the  states,  rec- 
ognizes a  civil  right  of  welfare  benefici- 
aries to  choose  "religious"  or  "secular" 
social  service  providers.  Wherever  gov- 
ernment is  funding  charitable  choice 
programs  of  social  service  providers 
there  is  no  longer  to  be  discrimination 
against  faith-based  organizations. 

Recently  the  constitutionality  of  such 
a  greater-choice  concept  has,  I  believe, 
been  reinforced  by  the  four-justice  plu- 
rality opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
Mitchell  v.  Helms.  Speaking  for  the  plural- 
ity, Justice  Thomas  emphasized  the 
"choice"  of  the  beneficiaries:  "Where,  as 
here,  aid  to  parochial  schools  is  available  only  as  a  result 
of  decisions  of  individual  parents  no  imprimatur  of  state 
approval  can  be  deemed  to  have  been  conferred  on  any 
particular  religion,  or  on  religion  generally."  In  this  case, 
state  provision  of  equipment  was  given  directly  to  pub- 
lic and  private  secular  and  religious  schools  based  on  the 
neutral  test  of  the  number  of  pupils,  which  in  turn  was 
based  on  school  choice  by  parents.  The  result  of  the  case 
was  expressly  not  made  dependent  on  whether  the 
provider  was  or  was  not  "pervasively  sectarian,"  or 
whether  benefits  to  those  helped  were  direct  or  indirect. 

The  Federal  charitable  choice  statute  does  contain  lim- 
its designed  to  pass  constitutional  muster  with  the 
Supreme  Court.  The  services  provided  may  not  include 
proselytizing  or  support  of  houses  of  worship.  Beneficia- 
ries must  be  free  to  decline  to  patronize  religiously  based 
social  service  providers  and  to  choose  a  secular  alterna- 
tive. Certainly  the  charitable  choice  concept  received  a 


Charitable  choice 


RECOGNIZES  A  CIVIL 


RIGHT  OF  WELFARE 


BENEFICIARIES  TO 


CHOOSE      RELIGIOUS 


OR      SECULAR      SOCIAL 


SERVICE  PROVIDERS. 


ringing  endorsement  in  the  Mitchell  plurality's  rationale, 
and  while  the  concurring  opinion  of  justices  <  >'(  .onnor 
and  Breyei  expressed  some  reservations,  they  concurred 
in  the  judgment  of  the  Court  that  computers  could  be 
loaned  directly  to  pervasively  sectarian  schools.  Those 
who  might  attack  charitable  choice  in  the  courts  should 
"sec  the  handwriting  on  the  wall."  Whether  a  social  serv- 
ice provider  receiving  public  funds  is  "pervasively  sectar- 
ian" is  rapidly  becoming  constitutionally  irrelevant. 

Despite  inclusion  in  the  Bill  of  Rights  in  the  very  first 
Amendment,  it  is  uncomfortable  for  some  strict  separa- 
tionists  to  see  religious  rights  as  "civil  rights"  when 
equality  of  access  to  government  assist- 
ance is  involved.  Yet  the  most  important 
of  any  of  the  civil  rights  of  citizens, 
including  those  on  welfare,  is  freedom  of 
religion — our  First  Liberty. 

We're  being  forced  by  innovative 
approaches  to  public  welfare  to  think 
afresh  about  rights.  Doing  that  is  what 
Catholic  theologian  Richard  John 
Neuhaus  has  termed  "the  greatest  chal- 
lenge for  the  next  century."  The  com- 
munity of  conservative  believers — 
Catholic,  Protestant  and  Jewish — have 
already  been  undergoing  a  philosophical 
shift.  For  example,  some  decades  ago  the 
general  director  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion of  Evangelicals  (NAE)  sat  on  the  board  of  what  is 
now  Americans  United  for  Separation  of  Church  and 
State.  Then  any  form  of  aid  benefiting  "parochial'' 
schooling  was  anathema  to  most  evangelicals.  But  then 
the  Christian  school  movement  prompted  a  change  of 
heart.  And  a  few  years  later  the  use  of  government  assist- 
ance to  attend  seminary  was  upheld  as  constitutional  in 
Witters  v.  Washington  Dept.  of  Services  for  Blind.  Now  both 
government,  and  groups  of  believers  of  different  faiths, 
are  eager  to  cooperate  in  providing  social  services. 

This  summer  a  concern  for  assuring  justice  and  equal- 
ity under  law  led  the  fifty-one  denominations  of  NAE  to 
endorse  the  concept  of  "charitable  choice."  Why?  The 
decades-long  push  for  rigid  "separation  of  church  and 
state" — with  restrictive  public  school  and  welfare  regula- 
tions— has  tended  to  curb  the  civil  rights  of  individuals 
and  groups  to  practice  their  faith.  No  one  in  his  right 
mind  wants  to  make  faith-groups,  or  their  clients, 


42     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Charitable  Choice 
A  Very  Bad  Idea  B 


by  Barry  Lynn 


In  THE  SEQUEL  to  the  hit  film  "Jurassic  Park,"  the  scientist 
played  by  left  Coklblum  watches  dinosaurs  being  loaded 
Oil  a  ship  to  take  them  to  the  United  States  and 
bemoans:  "This  is  the  worst  idea  In  the  history  of  bad 
ideas."  That  was  fiction.  In  tact,  "charitable  choice"  may 
be  the  worst  idea  in  modern  political  history,  notwith- 
standing its  bipartisan  appeal  and  "feel  good"  attributes. 
Essentially,  this  construct  allows  tax  dollars  to  flow 
through  the  federal  government  or  state  block  grants 
directly  to  houses  of  worship  or  other  religious  institu- 
tions for  various  social  outreach  missions. 

Using  the  prototype  of  "charitable  choice"  found  in 
the  1996  Welfare  Reform  Act,  the 
approach  notes  that  the  faith  group 
receiving  the  funds  may  use  them  "with- 
out Impairing  |its|  religious  character" 
but  cannot  use  the  dollars  for  "sectarian 
worship,  Instruction  or  proselytization." 
On  its  face  this  sets  up  a  massive  contra- 
diction and  a  hopeless  misunderstanding 
of  the  nature  of  the  church  and  many 
other  religious  entities,  first,  the  church 
is  inherently  evangelical,  existing  first 
and  foremost  to  spread  a  religious, 
salvific  message.  Second,  the  church 
operates  best  as  a  voluntary  agency,  sup- 
ported by  the  choices  of  those  who 
believe  In  its  mission.  Yet  these  character- 
defining  attributes  are  ignored  by  a  program  that  thinks 
the  spiritual  goals  of  an  agency,  inextricably  woven  into 
all  its  work,  tan  be  temporarily  subsumed  when  public 
dollars  hit  the  collection  plate.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
they  are  not,  then  kinds  paid  as  taxes  go  to  what  the 
Supreme  Court  has  labeled  "pervasively  sectarian"  insti- 
tutions and  violate  a  core  constitutional  principle  of  sep- 
aration ot  <  huicfa  and  state. 

Why  do  religious  institutions  set  up  programs  for  the 
hungry  or  those  wrestling  with  drug  or  alcohol  abuse 
instead  of  simply  letting  people  know  of  secular  programs 
down  the  street.'  They  do  so  because  they  believe  thai 
they  Can  add  an  important  element  to  the  Secular,  a  spir- 
itual component  thai  may  make  .ill  the  difference  In  the 
world.  However,  a  ratt  oi  Supreme  (  ourt  decisions  make 
it  quite  clear  that  it  is  unconstitutional  lor  governments 
to  advance  a  religious  mission  I  unding  arrangements  are 


The  church  is 


INHERENTLY 


EVANGELICAL, 


EXISTING   FIRST  AND 


FOREMOST  TO   SPREAD 


A   RELIGIOUS,    SALVIFIC 


MESSAGE. 


carefully  scrutinized  because  very  few  things  could 
<\d\  .nice  such  a  mission  more  than  paying  for  it.  To  deter- 
mine the  "pervasiveness''  of  religion,  courts  look  at  fac- 
tors such  as:  the  proximity  of  the  program  to  a  house  of 
worship,  the  presence  of  religious  symbols  in  the  facility 
in  which  the  program  operates  and  any  religious  duties 
that  the  program  administrators  also  perform.  In  the 
"charitable  choice"  model,  these  factors  are  labeled  as 
part  of  the  "religious  character"  that  need  not  change,  tor 
me,  these  are  some  of  the  very  factors  that  doom  such 
programs  under  the  extant  constitutional  standard. 
Matters  just  get  worse  in  examining  another  peculiar- 
ity of  funding.  Religious  groups  that 
receive  these  funds  may  discriminate  in 
their  employment  practices  on  the  basis 
of  religion  even  in  the  very  programs 
that  are  taxpayer-funded.  This  occurs  in 
no  other  federal  statute.  "Charitable 
choice"  grants  funds  to  a  group  that  is 
then  allowed  to  discriminate  in  hiring 
on  a  ground,  religion,  historically  the 
subject  of  central  civil  rights  protection 
in  the  ll><>4  (  ivil  Rights  Act  and  else- 
where. Curiously,  at  the  same  time  the 
Welfare  Reform  Act  was  wending  its  way 
through  Congress,  many  legislators  were 
properly  concerned  about  reports  that 
Housing  and  Urban  Development  funds 
were  going  to  pay  for  security  at  Baltimore,  Maryland, 
housing  projects  administered  by  a  Nation  of  Islam- 
related  agency  that  appeared  not  to  hire  anyone  except 
male  co-religionists.  Regrettably,  a  similar  disfavoring  of 
religious  bias  did  not  exist  in  the  final  welfare  revision 
Even  beyond  such  arguably  hypocritical  legislating,  why 
in  the  world  would  a  religious  litmus  test  be  appropriate 
for  funding  of  a  secular  program  in  the  first  place?  If  it's 
secular,  an  Episcopalian  or  a  humanist  can  do  the  bene- 
fit distribution  or  counseling  in  a  Baptist  church  as  well 
as  a  Baptist  cleric  or  layperson. 

I  do  not  honestly  believe  that  most  faith  communities 
will  be  able  to  avoid  communicating  their  Spiritual  princi- 
ples in  the  advancement  <>i  what  they  see  as  sex  lal  s< 

ministries.  It  may  be  an  un-ignorable  temptation  to  sug- 
gest that  a  welfare  recipient  watch  a  (  hristian  video  while 
bis  or  her  paperwork  tor  welfare  eligibility    a  being 


laii  2000  /  (  iv  it  ;• 


al     43 


servants  oi  the  State.  Bui  the  result  oi  the  absolutlsl  views 
ot  "no  aid"  separationlsts,  In  my  opinion,  is  not  to  pro- 
in  i  religious  freedom  bul  to  suppress  It.  Misunderstood 
separation  had  promoted  an  antl  religious  secularism, 
and  turned  once-friendly  government  Institutions!  pre- 
sumably meant  to  be  neutral,  Into  environments  hostile 
to  religion. 

[Tie  law  ot  charitable  choice  is  .it  once  .1  reaction  to 
such  hostility  and  an  endorsement  ol  government  neu- 
trality. It  is  an  antidote  to  government  directing  that 
social  service  providers  discriminate  against  religious 
choice.  Can  this  lead  to  an  American  consensus  on 
church-state  questions?  Probably  not,  considering  the 
adamant  opposition  of  the  "no-aid  scparationists."  But 
at  least  a  political  harrier  to  government  cooperation 
with  faith-based  organizations  has  been  removed  in  the 
field  of  welfare.  Until  recently  politicians  have  unneces- 
sarily played  up  welfare  as  an  arena  of  church-state  con- 
tentlon.  However,  times  have  changed, 
and  for  the  better.  Now  both  Al  Gore  and 
George  W.  Bush  have  endorsed  the  char- 
itable choice  concept  (though  Vice-Pres- 
ident Gore  demurs  on  school  vouchers, 
which  are  anathema  to  the  National 
Education  Association  union).  And  Pres- 
ident Glinton  sees  in  charitable  choice 
"an  emerging  consensus  about  the  ways 
in  which  faith  organizations  and  our 
government  can  work  together." 

With  discrimination  against  faith- 
based  organizations  clearly  on  the  wane, 
and  contention  subsiding,  the  level-playing  field  now 
possible  should  encourage  more  such  social  service 
providers  to  enter  cooperative  arrangements  with  gov- 
ernment. Amy  Sherman,  Ph.D.,  a  senior  fellow  at  the 
Hudson  Institute,  studied  125  charitable  choice  projects 
in  nine  states  and  found  that  over  half  involved  "new 
players."  ("The  Growing  Impact  of  Charitable  Choice:  A 
Catalogue  of  New  Collaborations  Between  Government 
and  Faith-Based  Organizations  in  Nine  States,"  The  Cen- 
ter for  Public  Justice,  March  2000.) 

The  growth  of  these  programs  expands  religious  civil 
rights  not  only  for  welfare  recipients,  who  will  have 
more  choices,  but  also  for  social  service  minded  persons 
who  initiate  and  work  for  faith-based  organizations  and 
their  many  volunteers.  A  classic  example  of  the  kind  of 
new  cooperative  arrangements  is  to  be  found  in  Ottawa 
County,  Michigan,  where  officials  using  Federal  "Tem- 
porary Assistance  to  Needy  Families"  funds,  contracted 
with  Good  Samaritan  Ministries  (GSM),  to  recruit  from 
local  churches  and  train  teams  of  mentors.  They  in  turn 
trained  able-bodied  welfare  recipients  to  get  and  retain 
employment.  GSM  employees,  paid  with  contract  funds, 
in  a  few  months  recruited  and  trained  volunteers  from 
50  churches.  Later  other  counties  followed  this  example, 
working  with  other  intermediary  religious  agencies  such 
as  the  Salvation  Armv  and  Lutheran  Social  Services. 


Both  Al  Core  and 
George  W.  Bush 

HAVE  ENDORSED 
THE  CHARITABLE 
CHOICE  CONCEPT 


Apart  from  affirming  the  dvil  rights  ot  faith  I 
organizations  and  their  <  Uents,  th<  new  ;  lotng 

more  oi  what  has  been  sometimes  negta  ted  be<  ause  oi 
feai  oi  1  tossing  the  "<  hurt  h-state"  boundar)  when  using 
public  funds.  1  hey  are  working  more  with  Individuals  on 
.1  very  personal  level  through  mentoring  and  lob-train- 
ing programs,  it  is  remarkable,  moreover,  that  as  shown 
in  the  Sherman  study,  out  of  thousands  <>!  beneficiaries  in 
programs  offered  bj  faith-based  organizations  < oopexat- 
Ing  with  government,  interviewees  reported  only  two 
complaints  by  clients  who  felt  uncomfortable  with  the 
faith  dimension  ot  the  organization  giving  help.  In  l>oth 
cases,  in  accordance  with  the  guidelines,  the  client  sim- 
ply opted  out  of  the  faith-based  program  and  into  a  pro- 
gram run  by  a  secular  provider.  The  study  concluded: 
"the  religii  >us  integrity  of  the  organizations  working  with 
government  is  being  protected  and  the  civil  liberties  ot 
program  beneficiary's  enrolled  are  being  respected." 

Some  objectors  to  charitable  choice 
profess  to  worry  about  protecting  the 
integrity  of  faith-based  service  providers. 
It  is  alleged  that  politicians  will  callously 
offer  grants  to  whichever  faith  con- 
stituents are  important  to  their  re-elec- 
tions, turning  religion  into  just  another 
special-interest  group,  or  that  faith-based 
providers  may  become  dependent  upon 
government  funding  and  unable  to  sim- 
ply walk  away  from  it.  (They  seem  prone 
to  assume  the  worst.) 

Behind  the  crocodile  tears  of  some,  I 
suspect,  is  knee-jerk  opposition  to  faith-based  organiza- 
tions providing  social  services  with  public  funds.  How- 
ever, others  may  have  a  genuine  concern  that  is  moti- 
vated by  the  record  of  secular  nonprofit  organizations 
that  have  become  dependent  upon  Federal  grant  pro- 
grams. They  believe  Federal  support  programs  should 
rely  as  much  as  possible  upon  the  tax  code  (i.e.  tax  cred- 
its) and  private  donors  rather  than  direct  grant  programs. 
But  this  view  denies  political  realities.  Charitable  choice 
is  the  law  of  the  land.  Let's  give  it  a  chance  to  work — 
which  it  is  thus  far — before  throwing  in  the  towel  on  the 
basis  of  arguments  that  are  more  shadow  than  substance. 
The  goal  of  achieving  "justice  for  all"  in  our  society, 
and  real  unity  in  American  life,  can  only  be  found  by  a 
widespread  recovery  of  our  shared  moral  foundations. 
Charitable  choice,  by  its  carefully  constructed  protec- 
tions for  both  faith-based  organizations  and  the 
purposes  and  functions  of  government,  assists  in  this 
recovery.  It  also  fosters  the  realization  of  an  important 
truth — a  just  society  is  one  that  seeks  the  good  not 
because  it  is  legally  coerced  to  do  so  but  because  it  is 
inwardly  motivated.     D 

For  Lynn's  response,  seepage  64. 


Rev.  Richard  Ciztk  is  Vice-President  eor  Governmental 
Affairs  at  the  National  Association  of  Evangelicals. 


44     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


reviewed  or  to  have  a  sectarian  prayer  uttered  before  thf 
meal  at  a  newly  funded  dinner  program  tor  the  poor.  We 

all  know  that  there  arc  an  inadequate  number  ot  slots  fol 

drug  addicted  persons  who  have  an  Immediate  need  for 
help  at  a  time  ot  greatest  commitment  to  sobriety.  Isn't  it 
likely  that  the  church  attendee  will  mow  up  the  line  more 
quickly  at  a  church-based  facility  than  will  the  Sunday 
sleeper.'  Even  it  the  taith-based  provider  doesn't  try  to  dis- 
criminate const.  iousIv.  I  fear  that  favoritism  will  still  occur. 
Although  "charitable  choice"  may  be  touted  as  a  benign 
partnership  between  government  md  houses  of  worship, 
it  will  Inevitably  subject  people  to  taxpayer-financed  evan- 
gelism in  order  tor  them  to  get  what  they  are  by  law  enti- 
tled to  receive.  Moreover,  main  ot  the  programs  which 
legislators  have,  or  are  trying  to,  include  In  this  rubric  are 
dealing  with  some  of  the  most  vulnerable  ix'ople  in  our 
society.  Even  if  they  feel  unwanted  religious  pressure,  who 
will  Inform  them  ot  their  rights  to  a 
secular  alternative  provider  (some- 
thing guaranteed  in  the  welfare  act, 
but  for  which  no  notice  is  required,  as 
it  welfare  recipients  regularly  read  the 
I  s  (  ode  in  their  spare  time)?  Indeed, 
these  individuals  are  not  likely  to 
know  that  conversion  is  not  a  permis- 
sible price  of  assistance  now. 

As  a  tnie  civil  libertarian,  as  much  as 
I  detest  the  ideologies  ot  religious  hate 
groups,  1  recognize  that  they  have 
every  right  to  conduct  business  and 
seek  members.  I  lowever,  I  do  not  want 
any  of  my  taxes  going  to  fund  these  groups.  Since  "chari- 
table choice"  presumptively  allows  for  no  discrimination 
among  would-be  religious  recipients,  religious  bigots 
could  lx'  granted  funds.  On  the  other  hand,  the  reported 
comments  of  one(  longressional  supporter,  Representative 
Mark  Souderoi  Indiana,  that  hinders  might  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish between  legitimate  and  illegitimate  faiths  (like 
Wicca)  would  lead  to  constitutional  challenge  under 
bedrock  principles  th.it  absenl  prooi  of  fraud,  all  reli- 
gions— no  matter  how  "misunderstood" — must  be  treated 
the  same  as  well-established  faiths. 

Lately,  advocates  of  tx>th  "charitable  choice"  and  reli- 
gious school  vouchers  have  concocted  the  bogus  fheorj 
that  it  is  an  act  ot  discrimination  not  to  allow  religious 
groups  to  share  in  the  Federal  pie.  I'hcy  ignore  the  tact 
that  religion  is  constitutionally  different  from  all  other 
activities  Governments  <-mi  establish  all  kinds  ot  guide- 
ixists  tor  economic  cultural,  and  political  programs,  but 
are  precluded  trom  erecting  supports  tor  any  or  all  reli- 
gious ideas  under  the  non-1  stablishment  principle  of  the 
hrst  unendment  It  it  is  discrimination  not  to  kind  reli- 
gious anti-violence  programs,  why  is  it  not  discriminatory 
to  refuse  to  fund  Sunday  schools  but  pay  tor  playgrounds 

that  also  give  children  a  sate  and  healthy  place  to  go  on 

Sunday  rnornings?  Many  ot  us  cherish  the  value  ot  faith- 

based  activities,  but  still  do  not  want  governments  to  help 


Competition  for  souls 

may  be  inevitable  in  a 

nation  with  nearly 

2000  RELIGIOUS  groups; 

competition  for  the 
coins  of  Caesar  is  just 


UNSEEMLY. 


pay  for  them 

Many  of  us  fear  that  the  very  charactei  oi  religious 
ministry  could  change  under  this  construct.  How  much 
government  scrutiny  will  come  with  the  government 
tuiuls.'  1  lure  are  even  bigger  issues,  though.  I  don't  want 
to  see  religious  groups  battling  over  what  percentage  of  a 
state's  block  grant  will  go  to  the  Methodists,  the  Scientol- 
ogists, and  the  (  atholics.  (  ompetition  tor  souls  may  be 
Inevitable  In  a  nation  with  nearly  2000  religious  groups; 
competition  for  the  coins  of  Caesar  is  just  unseemly.  On 
a  cautionary  note,  it  I  Fnde  Sam  begins  to  fund  the  activ- 
ities of  a  local  church,  won't  some  in  the  congregation 
feel  they  no  longer  need  to,  and  will  thev  return  to  previ- 
ous levels  of  giving  if  the  church  down  the  street  gets  the 
grant  a  few  years  later  instead  of  their  church?  Just  what 
does  it  do  to  the  character  of  the  church  if  the  leaders  start 
reviewing  the  details  of  the  latest  issue  of  the  Federal  Reg- 
ister for  new  grant  ideas  instead  of 
searching  for  new  insights  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  of  your  faith?  Will  your 
church  or  synagogue,  temple  01 
mosque  be  able  to  continue  their 
prophetic  posture  toward  government 
If  they  now  depend  on  it  for  financial 
support.'  All  ot  these  questions  should 
be  troubling  to  those  who  cherish  the 
integrity  ol  the  faith  community  of 
which  they  are  a  part. 

My  examples  are  not  purely  specula- 
tive. A  group  called  Operation  Blessing 
in  Wilmington,  North  Carolina  lost 
state  funds  in  1999  because  it  inquired  whether  appli- 
cants to  a  homeless  shelter  had  been  "saved"  before  they 
were  invited  to  go  to  sleep.  The  state  of  Kentucky  is  con- 
sidering whether  to  continue  funding  the  Kentucky  Bap- 
tist Homes  for  Children  after  a  lawsuit  by  Americans 
United  and  the  ACLU  claimed  that  the  agency  (which 
receives  over  two-thirds  of  its  funding  trom  the  state,  and 
less  than  10  percent  from  Baptists)  had  tired  a  well-crc- 
dentialed  anil  highly  regarded  counselor  when  thev  dis- 
covered through  a  newspaper  photo  that  she  is  a  lesbian. 
The  civil  rights  and  I  irst  Amendment  issues  are  weight) 
and  test  core  principles  ot  the  "charitable'  choice"  idea. 
Main  of  us  who  watch  (  ongress  see  that  there  is  a 
paucity  oi  good  new  ideas  for  dealing  with  some  ol  the 
most  troubled  ot  Americans.  In  "charitable  choice,"  in 
the  guise  of  doing  something,  Congress  has  merely 

dropped  some  groups  in  need  -  the  poor,  the  addicted, 

the  hungry  -  on  the  church  steps  one  day;  dropped  a  bag 

ot  money  there  the  next  d.w.  and  then  just  prayed  the 
two  would  net  together.  I  hat  is  no  way  to  run  anything; 
it  is  an  abdication  ol  responsibility  to  the  most  vulnerable 
in  our  society  and  merely  a  political  salute  to  piety    □ 
Fa  '  i/ik\  response,  see  page  63. 

B\kkv  W.  Lynn  is  imi  I'm m  mi  P 

I  n  «  Si  PARATION  Ol  <  in  R(  II  WD  Si 


Kill  2000      Civil  1 


trnal    45 


THE  STATE  OF  THE  NATION'S 


by  Mary  Dolan 

The  National  Organization  on  Disability  conducts 
periodic  surveys  in  conjunction  with  Harris  interactive 
to  assess  the  quality  of  life  of  people  with  disabilities  in 

such  key  areas  as  employment,  income,  religious  and 
political  participation,  access  to  health  care  and  trans- 
portation, and  leisure  activities.  The  first  survey  was  con- 
ducted in  1986;  subsequent  surveys  were  undertaken  in 
1994,  1998,  and  2000.  Together,  the  surveys  provide  the 
richest  source  of  information  available  on  general  trends 
regarding  the  quality  of  life  among  the  disabled. 

The  most  recent  survey,  conducted  in  May  and  June 
2000,  found  that  while  overall  people  with  disabilities  lag 
somewhat  or  very  far  behind  people  without  disabilities  on 
key  measures  of  quality  of  life,  the  past  decade  had  seen 
notable  improvements.  These  gaps  provide  a  benchmark 
for  measuring  progress  in  the  next  century. 

Large  gaps  exist  between  people  with  and  without  dis- 
abilities with  regard  to:  employment,  education,  house- 
hold income,  access  to  transportation,  health  care,  enter- 
tainment/going out,  frequency  of  socializing,  attendance 
at  religious  services,  political  participation/voter  registra- 
tion, and  life  satisfaction. 

However,  it  is  quite  misleading  to  think  of  people  with 
disabilities  as  a  homogenous  group  because  the  nature  of 
disabilities  vary  in  type  and  severity.  People  with  slight  or 
moderate  disabilities  have  dramatically  different  needs 
than  people  with  somewhat  or  very  severe  disabilities,  and 
the  gaps  are  even  more  striking  when  comparing  people 
with  severe  disabilities  to  the  general  population.  People 
with  slight  or  moderate  disabilities  are  less  likely  than  the 
general  population  to  fare  well  on  all  of  the  10  quality  of 
life  indicators,  but  they  still  fare  significantly  better  than 
people  with  somewhat  or  very  severe  disabilities  do. 

It  is  also  important  to  note  that  while  significant  gaps 
still  exist  between  people  with  and  without  disabilities, 
certain  social  and  economic  indicators  demonstrate 
improvement  for  people  with  disabilities.  Most  notably, 
over  the  past  fourteen  years  since  Harris  and  N.O.D.  have 
been  conducting  this  research,  education  has  shown 
signs  of  improvement  for  all  people  with  disabilities,  and 
employment  has  shown  signs  of  improvement  for  those 
people  with  disabilities  who  say  they  are  able  to  work. 
These  improvements  are  most  likely  a  result  of  many 
things  including:  the  implementation  of  the  Americans 
with  Disabilities  Act  of  1990  (ADA),  the  Individuals  with 
Disabilities  in  Education  Act  (IDEA),  a  robust  economy, 
and  growth  in  technology. 


Employment 

Although  employment  has  improved  somewhat  over  the 

past  fourteen  years  for  people  who  say  they  are  able  to 
work,  it  is  still  the  area  with  the  widest  gulf  between  all 
people  with  disabilities  and  the  rest  of  the  population. 
Only  three  in  ten  working-age  (18-64)  people  with  dis- 
abilities are  employed  full  or  part-time,  compared  to 
eight  in  ten  working-age  people  without  disabilities 
(32%  versus  81%).  The  presence  of  a  disability  seems  to 
prevent  a  clear  majority  of  unemployed  people  with  dis- 
abilities from  participating  in  the  work  force.  Two  out  of 
three  unemployed  people  with  disabilities  would  prefer 
to  be  working. 

As  mentioned,  the  employment  picture  is  somewhat 
blurred  by  the  presence  of  a  significant  number  of  people 
with  disabilities  who  say  they  are  unable  to  work  due  to 
their  disabilities.  Over  the  past  fourteen  years,  the  dis- 
ability population  has  become  more  severely  disabled, 
and  in  turn,  the  population  who  say  they  are  unable  to 
work  due  to  their  disabilities  has  grown  horn  29%  to 
43%.  However,  among  those  who  say  they  are  able  to 
work  despite  their  disability  or  health  problem,  there  has 
been  a  noteworthy  improvement  over  the  past  fourteen 
years.  Fully  56%  of  people  with  disabilities  who  say  they 
are  able  to  work  are  working  today,  compared  to  46%  in 
1986.  The  Americans  with  Disabilities  Act  of  1990  is 
undoubtedly  responsible  for  at  least  part  of  this  progress. 

Furthermore,  the  employment  picture  for  18-29  year 
olds  indicates  even  more  promise.  Among  this  cohort, 
57%  of  those  with  disabilities  who  are  able  to  work  are 
working,  compared  to  72%  of  their  non-disabled  coun- 
terparts— a  gap  of  only  15%. 


46     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Disabled: 


Among  the 
Young,  Modest 
Improvements 


Income 

It  is  not  surprising,  given  the  lower  rate  ot  employment  tor 
people  with  disabilities,  that  a  significant  income  gap 

exists  between  people  with  and  without  disabilities.  Peo- 
ple with  disabilities  are  much  more  likely  than  people 

without  disabilities  to  live  in  poverty  with  very  low  house- 
hold incomes  oi  siyoooor  less  (29%  versus  10%).  (  on- 

versely,  people  with  disabilities  are  much  less  likely  than 
people  without  disabilities  to  live  in  households  that  earn 
more  than  $50,1  100  annually  (16%  versus  39%). 

While  the  survey  data  peg  the  income  gap  as  19% 
between  people  with  and  without  disabilities,  by  con- 
trast, among  people  aged  IK  to  29,  the  gap  is  only  9  per- 
centage points  (30%  versus  21%). 

Education 

With  regard  to  education,  the  pattern  is  the  same.  People 
with  disabilities  lag  tar  behind  their  non-disabled  coun- 
terparts in  getting  a  basic  education,  with  more  than  one 
OUt  o|  five  tailing  to  complete  high  school,  compared  to 
less  than  one  out  of  ten  people  without  disabilities  (22% 
versus  9%).  I  he  gap  is  only  slightly  smaller  when  look- 
ing at  higher  education — slightly  more  than  one  out  of 
ten  people  with  disabilities  have  graduated  from  college, 
I 1  impared  to  slightly  more  than  two  out  ol  ten  of  their 
non-disabled  counterparts  1 12%  versus  23%). 

I  his  education  gap  may  shed  some  light  on  the  dis- 
i  repanc  les  mentioned  earlier  with  regard  to  employment 
and  Income.  Since  education,  employment,  and  income 
are  iiuAtrn. ably  linked  together,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
people  with  disabilities  who  are  more  likely  to  lack  a 
basic  education  are  less  likely  to  be  employed  and  less 
like!)  to  have  high  incomes. 

It  is  Important  to  note,  however,  that  over  the  past 

fourteen  years,  there  has  been  marked  progress  in  the 
area  ol  education.  In  tat  t,  almost  N  out  of  10  people  with 

disabilities  i77"u)  have  graduated  irom  high  school 
today,  compared  to  6  out  ol  10  (61%)  in  1986 

Health  Care  and  Transportation 

rhe  Income,  education  and  employment  gaps  also  pro- 
vide some  explanation  tor  the  gaps  in  other  quality  ol 
life  Indicators.  Being  employed  and  having  disi  retionary 
Income  often  free  people  from  having  to  worry  about  an 
issue  like  health  care,  since  both  enable  people  to  receive 


People  with  Diubilitiej 


'«■! 


%    0      10      20      30      40      SO      60      70      80      90      100 

Figure  2.  A  Key  Indicators  for  People  with 
Disabilities— Trends  1 986-2000 


Figure  3.  Overall  Satisfaction  with  Life  of  People 
with  Disabilities — Cap  in  Numbers  saying  Very 
Satisfied  with  Life  in  General 


necessary  and  satisfactory  medical  coverage,  it  Is  not 
unexpei  ted,  therefore,  since  people  with  dlsabUitJes  have 
lower  household  Incomes  and  are  less  likely  t<>  be 
employed  than  people  without  disabilities,  thai  people 
with  disabilities  arc  more  than  twice  .is  likely  to  post- 
pone or  put  ofi  needed  health  care  be<  ause  they  cannol 
afford  ii  (28%  versus  12%). 

Similarly,  having  adequate  transportation  t<>  get  to 
work  or  si  hool,  access  entertainment,  duel  socialize  with 
friends  and  family  often  depends  on  having  sufficient 
discretionary  funds.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that 
people  with  disabilities  are  more  likely  than  those  with- 
out disabilities  to  consider  inadequate  transportation  to 
be  .1  problem  (30%  versus  10%). 

Entertainment  and  Socializing 

Moreover,  having  discretionary  income  often  enables 
people  to  enjoy  themselves  and  take  advantage  of  leisure 
activities  like  restaurants,  movies,  and  sporting  events. 
The  income  gap,  therefore,  may  help  to  explain  the  dif- 
ferences between  people  with  and  without  disabilities  in 
most  areas  of  entertainment. 

People  with  disabilities  are  less  likely  to  go  to  restau- 
rants at  least  once  per  week  than  people  without  disabil- 
ities (40%  versus  59%).  Similarly,  people  with  disabilities 
are  less  likely  to  socialize  with  friends,  family  and  neigh- 
bors at  least  once  per  week  (70%)  and  attend  religious 
services  at  least  once  per  month  (47%)  than  their  non- 
disabled  counterparts  (85%  socializing;  65%  religion). 
They  are  also  less  likely  to  go  to  supermarkets,  stores  and 
malls,  movies,  theater,  live  music  performances,  sporting 
events,  and  events  related  to  their  hobbies  such  as  danc- 
ing, art  shows,  or  events  for  collectors. 

Even  when  comparing  people  with  and  without  dis- 
abilities at  similar  income  levels,  significant  gaps  still 
exist  between  the  two  populations,  implying  that  other 
factors  such  as  lack  of  accessibility,  negative  public  atti- 
tudes, or  discomfort  may  be  inhibiting  people  with  dis- 
abilities from  participating  in  these  leisure  activities. 

Since  people  with  disabilities  are  much  older  than  their 
non-disabled  counterparts,  reason  also  suggests  that  age 
might  have  an  impact  on  the  findings.  However,  when 
comparing  people  of  similar  age  cohorts  (aside  from  those 
18-29),  people  with  disabilities  are  still  significantly  less 
likely  to  participate  in  leisure  activities  such  as  going  shop- 
ping, seeing  movies,  and  attending  sports  events.  This 
finding  indicates  that  the  presence  of  a  disability  is  still  a 
factor  in  impeding  access  to  entertainment. 

However,  for  those  18-29,  the  outlook  for  entertain- 
ment and  socializing  is  more  encouraging.  People  with 
disabilities  are  almost  as  likely  as  their  non-disabled 
counterparts  to  socialize  regularly  with  close  friends,  rel- 
atives, and  neighbors  (89%  versus  90%),  and  to  go  out  to 
restaurants  at  least  once  per  week  (59%  versus  61%). 


Political  Participation/Voter  Registration 

in  .i  |  ncsHiciiti.ii  eta  tion  year,  one  of  the  mosl  Important 

iimIh  .itors  is  the  voter  registration  figures  lor  people  With 

and  without  disabilities.  Since  appropriate  <  ensus  data  is 
only  available  alter  presidential  <-i*«  dons,  the  year  2000 
percentages  used  in  this  report  reflet  t  the  1996  eta  tion 
In  that  year,  approximately  6  out  ol  i"  ot  people  with 

disabilities  (62%)  were  registered  to  vote,  Compared  to 

almost  8  out  ol  10  people  without  disabilities  (78%) — a 

gap  ol   16%,  suggesting  that  the  people  with  disabilities 

have  not  been  engaged  in  the  political  process  at  the 
same  rate  as  people  without  disabilities.  However,  it  will 

be  important  to  look  at  this  year's  figures  when  they 
become  available  in  order  to  explore  any  valuable  trends. 


Life  Satisfaction  and  Optimism  for  the  Future 

The  keystone  of  the  gaps  analysis  is  thai  all  10  of  the 

quality  of  life  indicators  are  interconnected.  It  seems 
likely  that  as  one  indicator  improves,  others  will  follow, 
and  conversely,  as  one  declines,  others  will  also  decline. 
All  the  gaps  taken  together,  therefore,  can  arguably  be 
used  to  explain  another  sizeable  and  important  gap — 
the  gap  in  life  satisfaction,  this  gap  illustrates  another 
clear  difference  between  people  with  and  without  dis- 
abilities in  that  half  as  many  people  with  disabilities  say 
that  they  are  very  satisfied  with  their  life  in  general, 
when  compared  to  people  without  disabilities  (33%  ver- 
sus 67%  respectively).  It  is  important  to  note,  however, 
that  as  with  a  majority  of  the  other  indicators,  this  gap  in 
life  satisfaction  shrinks  for  younger  people  aged  18  to 
29.  For  this  youngest  cohort,  44%  of  people  with  dis- 
abilities, compared  to  57%  of  people  without  disabilities, 
say  they  are  "very  satisfied  with  life" — a  gap  of  only  13 
percentage  points — much  less  than  for  people  overall 
where  the  gap  is  34  percentage  points. 

Despite  all  of  the  gaps,  63%  of  all  people  with  disabil- 
ities— and  73%  of  people  with  slight  disabilities — believe 
that  life  has  improved  for  the  disabled  population  over 
the  past  decade.  Clear  majorities  feel  that  overall  quality 
of  life,  access  to  public  facilities,  advertising,  media  por- 
trayals of  people  with  disabilities,  and  public  attitudes 
toward  people  with  disabilities  have  gotten  better  over 
the  past  four  years,  and  no  more  than  16%  say  that  any 
of  these  things  have  gotten  worse.  While  it  is  likely  that 
these  improvements  stem  from  a  variety  of  factors  such 
as  a  strong  economy  and  substantial  growth  in  technol- 
ogy, it  is  reasonable  to  attribute  at  least  some  of  this 
progress  to  the  implementation  of  the  .Americans  with 
Disabilities  Act  of  1990. 

Though  less  so  than  their  non-disabled  counterparts, 
people  with  disabilities  are  optimistic  about  their  future. 
41%  envision  their  quality  of  life  improving  over  the 
coming  four  years.      cQ 


48     Civil  Rights  Journal  /   Fall  2000 


CHICAGO'S 


SOUTH  SIDE 


19     4     6 


19     4     8 


Wayne  Miller's  photographs  chronicle  a  black  Chicago  of  fifty  years  ago:  the  South  Side  com- 
munity that  burgeoned  as  thousands  of  African  Americans,  almost  exclusively  from  the 
South,  settled  in  the  city  during  the  Great  Migration  of  the  World  War  II  years.  The  black 
and  white  images  provide  a  visual  history  of  Chicago  at  the  height  of  its  industrial  order — 
when  the  stockyards,  steel  mills,  and  factories  were  booming — but,  more  important,  they 
capture  the  intimate  moments  in  the  daily  lives  of  ordinary  people.  Chicago's  South  Side, 
1946-1948,  is  available  from  the  University  of  California  Press. 


"When  the  wagon  wheels  are  in  the  it 


g  on  air. 

Kill  2 I      <  Ivi]  R      '    [ournal     49 


Selling  fish  from  an  alley  shed. 


50     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Wednesday  night  Bible  class  at  a  storefront  church. 


Fall  >000  /  <  ml  Rig]  I    lournal     51 


Chicago  police  sergeant  questioning  bar  patrons. 


52     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


University  of  Chicago  anthropologist  St.  Clair  Drake  (rear)  entertaining  Bucklin  Moon  (front), 
an  editor  from  Houghton-Mifflin  publishers. 


I  .ill  'nun      <  ml  Rlghl    I  >urnal     53 


Playing  marbles. 


54     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


ook       Reviews 


Myths  of  a  Golden  Age 

MoUktIkkkI  in  the  1950s 

Review  i>t  Susan  (  hira  \  Mother's 
Place:  (  boosing  Work  and  Family 
without  Guilt  01  Blame,  &  Danielle 
i  rittenden  WhatOw  Mothers  Didnl 
Tell  Us:  Why  Happiness  Eludes  the 
Modem  Woman. 

Reviewed  by  Elizabeth  Bernstein 

When  I  became  a  mother  fourteen 
years  ago,  1  found  that  I  could  no 
longer  count  on  creature  comforts 
like  sleep — that  I  had  previously 
taken  for  granted.  But  beyond  that, 
a  political  comfort  zone  I  had  inhab- 
ited since  college  also  slipped  away. 
By  the  tune  my  tirst  child  was  a  year 
old,  I  was  re-reading  The  Feminine 
Mystique  in  dismay.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  feminism  bad  underestimated 
nearly  everything  about  parent- 
hood, from  the  intensity  oi  the 
child's  needs  to  that  extra  push 
towards  obsession  that  biology  had 
given  to  the  female  of  the  species. 

Since  that  tune,  my  belief  in  the 
benefits  of  full-time  mothering  has 
continued  unabated  and  my  politi- 
cal loyalties  have  remained  shaky.  It 
hasn't  been  a  question  ot  switching 
from  oik-  party,  one  nationally  rec- 
Ognized  ideology,  to  another.   It's 

more  a  matter  ot  feeling  like  a  polit- 
ical orphan.  Reading  two  recent 
hooks  on  opposite  sides  ot  the  work- 
inn  mother  debate  reminds  me  ot 
why  I'm  still  here,  in  limbo. 

In  What  Our  Mother  Didnl  Telll  s: 
win  Happiness  Eludes  tin   Modern 

Woman,  Danielle  (  rittenden  argues 
that  when  women  insist  too 
strong!)  on  autonomy,  when  they 

run  too  scared  from  sat  ntu  r  and 

interdependence,  they  arc  more 
likely  to  undermine  their  prospects 
tor  long-term  contentmenl  than  to 

assure  it.  I  he  desire  to  become  wives 
ami  mothers,  the  guilt  we  women 
leel    when    we   spend    long    hours 

away  from  our  c  hildren,  an-  not 


aspects   ot    our    nature   we   should 

wish  away:  "I heir  crv  should  be 
more  compelling  than  the  call  from 
the  office!" 

Susan  i  bira  believes  that  fo]  a  lair 
number  oi  women,  staying  borne 
with  their  children  is  akin  to 
"drowning."  in  .1  Mother's  Place: 
(  boosing  Work  iiml  Family  Without 
(iiiilt  hi  Blame,  ( Ihira  argues  that  the 
children  ot  sir  h  mothers  are  indeed 

better  off  it  their  mothers  go  to  the 
Office  than  it  they  remain  at  home, 
resentful  dnd  depressed. 


The  child  born  into 
eighteenth-  or  nineteenth- 
CENTURY  America  was  far 
more  likely  than  the 

twentieth- century 

American  baby  to  be 

indulged  in  that  intense 

infantile  desire  to  be  held 

and  rocked  and  carried. 

But  while  the  broad  sweep  of 
Crittenden's  and  Chira's  arguments 
carry   them  off  in  very  differenl 

dircc  tions,  there  are  hints  ot  surpris- 
ing places  in  which  their  views  on 
the  nitty-gritty  of  childcare  inter- 
sect One  of  <  nttenden's  arguments 

is  that  women  would  dn  well  to  con- 
sider marrying  earlier  than  they  do 
now,  and  some  ot  her  supporting 
reasons  have  to  do  with  the  older 
mothers  she  meets  at  the  park. 
I  llese  women,   she   teels,   take  the 

whole  business  ot  motherhood  too 
seriously,  rhey  cling  and  don't  give 

their  children  enough  breathing 

space.  She  e\i  laimS  Over  the  tacts 
that  in  titteen  months,  one  mother 
hasn't  lelt  hei  c  Inlet  with  a  hah\ -sit- 
ter t<>  go  out  tor  the  evening,  and 

that  .mother  has  a  nmc-month-oM 


who  still  wakes  several  times  a  night 
because  the  mother  won't  leave  her 
to  cry  herself  hack  to  sleep. 

Some  ot  i  hira's  observations  on 
the  ideologies  she  sees  being  foisted 
onto  mothers  are  remarkahly  similar. 
All  around  her  she  sees  parents 
whose  fascination  with  their  babies 
"borders  on  the  obsessive."  she  is 
especially  critical  ot  child-care  advis- 
ers like  Penelope  Leach,  who  put  too 
much  weight  on  theories  ot  mother- 
child  attachment  and  provide  lists  ot 
edifying  activities  like  "putting  mar- 
bles in  used  detergent  bottles":  It's  all 
too  "purposeful,"  too  "intense,"  and 
deprives  the  baby  of  the  opportunity 
to  experience  anything  without  the 
mother's  interference.  She  identifies 
Mothering  magazine  as  having  a 
more  palatable  philosophy,  one 
which  is  favorable  to  the  idea  of 
"benign  neglect" — hut  she  also  takes 
exception  to  "its  attack  on  experts 
who  tell  mothers  to  let  their  babies 
cry  it  out  at  night." 

Well,  I  don't  know  how  much  it 
has  to  do  with  age — I  was  only  four 
years  older  than  (  rittenden  when  1 
had  my  first  child — but  anyone  who 
wanted  to  take  my  measure  on  such 
scales  as  "intensity"  and  "attach- 
ment to  child"  and  "inability  to  let 
baby  cry"  would  be  able  to  classify 
me  without  hesitation.  I  am  that 
mother  who  seems  to  make  both 
Chira  and  (rittenden  unease.  With 

my  younger  child  now  eleven,  these 
issues  don't  arouse  in  me  quite  the 
same  degree  of  detensiveness  that 
they  once  did.  But  I  still  consider 
them    important    tor    this    reason: 

there  is  an  inextricable  link  between 

the  child-care  philosophies  we  sub- 
si  ribe  to  as  a  nation  anil  our  atti- 
tudes towards  lull-time  motherhood. 
I  here  is  a  tendency  in  our 
national  discussions  ot  motherhood, 

(  hira's  and  (  nttenden's  included,  to 
let  the  post-war  era  serve  as  a  sort  oi 

touchstone.  A  half-century  may  have 

passed,  hut  the  titties  remain  the 
decade  to  reckon  with,  the  decade 


I. ill  . 'nun      i  mi  Right    I    irnal     55 


I   V   I   I   w    t 


thai  we  elthei  run  awaj  From  01 
pause  to  re<  onsidei  Even  In  treat- 
ments likr(  I  lira's,  which  do  consider 
earlier  history,  there  remains  the 
underlying  sense  thai  ii  you  wanl  to 
weigh  up  the  pro's  and  ion's  oi 
female  domesticity,  you  need  si  an  ely 
look  1  u it i ui  the  fifties  represented 
the  ultimate  test. 

Bui  this  national  nearsightedness 
confuses  us  not  only  as  to  what  our 
options  are  today,  but  as  to  the 
essential  lessons  of  our  history  as 
well.  There  is  a  popular  assumption 
thai  American  children  of  the  eigh- 
teenth and  nineteenth  centuries 
enjoyed  far  less  affectionate  atten- 
tion from  their  parents  than  was 
common  during  the  twentieth. 
Many  are  convinced  that  early 
American  child-rearing  practices 
were  distinguished  chiefly  by  their 
severity — a  belief  arousing  nostalgia 
in  the  more  authoritarian  among  us. 
What's  more,  Chira  and  other  femi- 
nists tell  us,  mothers  were  once  far 
too  busy  to  give  their  children  the 
kind  of  attention  expected  of  latter- 
day  housewives. 

In  fact,  the  child  born  into 
eighteenth-  or  nineteenth-century 
America  was  far  more  likely  than  the 
twentieth-century  American  baby  to 
be  indulged  in  that  intense  infantile 
desire  to  be  held  and  rocked  and  car- 
ried, to  be  always  within  the  sight 
and  sound  and  smell  of  us.  There 
were  of  course  exceptions,  but  the 
grim  truth  is  that  many  of  the  excep- 
tions died.  Those  who  survived  in 
the  era  before  formula  and  breast- 
pumps  and  sterilizers  and  antibiotics 
did  so  because  they  spent  much  of 
their  early  life  at  mother's  breast. 
(Chira  mentions  wet-nursing,  but 
this  practice  also  carried  a  signifi- 
cantly higher  risk  of  infant  mortality 
and  was  never  as  popular  in  the 
American  colonies  as  it  was  in 
Europe.)  "Demand"  feeding,  which 
included  nursing  the  child  through 
the  night  in  the  mother's  bed,  was 
standard    operating    procedure — 


because  anything  less  would  have 
1  >  1 1 1  mother's  milk  supply,  and  hei 
baby's  life,  al  risk. 

Late  in  the  nineteenth  <  entury, 
and  early  in  the  twentieth,  as  the 
country's  character  changed  from 
rural  and  agri<  ultural  to  urban  and 
industrial,  a  nearly  forgotten  revolu- 
tion occurred  in  child-rearing  prac- 
tices. <  hira  gives  the  ascendancy  of 
the  'si  ientifk  experts'  .1  briei  men- 
tion: "In  the  1920s,  fohn  B.  Watson 
insisted  that  babies  would  thrive  only 

There  is  an  inextricable 
link  between  the  child- 
care  philosophies  we 
subscribe  to  as  a  nation 
and  our  attitudes 
towards  full-time 
motherhood. 
The  fifties  remain  the 
decade  to  reckon  with, 
the  decade  that  we  either 
run  away  from  or  pause 
to  reconsider. 

on  rigid  schedules;  his  was  a  view  of  a 
baby  fit  for  the  assembly-line  age." 
Watson  was  in  fact  a  man  who  cham- 
pioned greater  sexual  freedom — 
which  is  to  say,  women's  increased 
availability  to  men — while  displaying 
a  horror  of  mother-child  attachment, 
particularly  as  manifested  in  any  sort 
of  physical  intimacy  with  the  child. 
In  his  best-selling  child-care  manual 
he  advised  parents  that  a  periscope 
would  enable  them  to  check  on  the 
lone  child  in  the  backyard  without 
the  risk  of  rendering  him  "over-con- 
ditioned in  love,"  and  that  parental 
hand-shakes  should  be  substituted 
for  kisses.  Beyond  that  he  wished  that 
he  could  rotate  mothers  between 


houses    to    minimi/< 

woman's  influent  e  on  the  \< 
any  given  child.  Chira's  suggestion 
thai  mothers  weren'1  realty  vi bad  ofl 
when  thej  "had  only  to  frog-march 
their  children  through  Watson's 
schedules"  doesn't  begin  to  do  justice 

to  the  man's  misogynv  or  the  dam- 
age he  did  to  women  and  children 

both. 

Alter  [ohn  Watson,  practically 
anything  that  Dr.  Spock  could  have 

written  in  the  forties  and  fifties  was 
likely  to  look  sane  and  "permis- 
sive"— and  welcomely  so.  But  far 
from  leading  the  country  las  conser- 
vatives would  still  have  it)  in  the 
direction  of  a  new,  unprecedented, 
indulgence  of  the  child,  on  critical 
issues  Spock  continued  to  hold  the 
line  against  any  return  to  the  more 
profound  indulgence  of  previous 
centuries.  True,  Spock  smiled  on 
manifestations  of  the  childish  desire 
for  autonomy — what  to  eat,  how- 
much  to  sleep,  when  to  toilet-train. 
But  he  was  far  less  tolerant  of  the 
child's  complementary  desires  to  be 
held  close.  When  post-war  babies 
objected  to  a  life  spent  largely  in  cribs 
and  playpens — a  life  for  which  evolu- 
tion had  left  them  woefully  unpre- 
pared— it  was  widely  understood  that 
their  howls  marked  their  mothers  as 
guilty  of  spoiling.  The  way  to  unspoil 
them,  Spock  advised,  was  for  mother 
to  make  a  schedule  requiring  her  "to 
be  busy  with  housework  or  anything 
else  for  most  of  the  time  the  baby  is 
awake." 

This  is  the  aspect  of  post-war 
motherhood  that  we  tend  to  for- 
get— the  unhappy  juxtaposition  of 
long  hours  at  home  with  the  con- 
stant warnings  against  "smother- 
love"  and  "over-protection."  If 
mothers  were  frustrated — which 
they  undoubtedly  were — it  is  past 
time  to  consider  whether  that  frus- 
tration derived  from  the  mere  fact  of 
being  at  home,  or  from  following  an 
extremely  flawed  blueprint  for 
childcare.  A  mother  who  lives  in  a 


56     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


culture  with  unrealistic  expectations 
about  the  needs  <>t  the  child  finds 
hersell  m  a  no-win  situation:  she 
must  choose  between  responding  to 
Ikt  child  and  1. 11  ing  the  condemna- 
tion nt  others,  or  following  the  con- 
ventional wisdom  and  wondering 
why  her  child  is  disconsolate.  \s 
Susan  c  hira  hersell  evidences,  the 
problem  dogs  American  mothers  to 
this  day;  part  ol  what  burdened  her 
id  Ikt  months  at  home  with  her  first 
babj  uas  the  feeling  thai  she  was 
"the  only  mother  whose  baby  did 
not  lie,  cooing  gently,  on  her  lamb- 
skin ru^,"  and  the  facts  that  the 

babj  wouldn't  sleep  long  hours 
alone,  nor  be  put  down  without  dy- 
ing. Yet  that  "colicky"  crving  which 
(  hira  had  to  endure  (as  I  did,  as  mil- 
lions ot  other  American  parents  do), 

which  can  so  diminish  the  mother's 
satisfaction  with  infant  care,  is  now 
understood  b\  anthropologists  like 
Meredith  Small  at  (  ornell  to  repre- 
sent "the  negative  side  ot  the  sepa- 
ration trade-off" — something  that 
appears  in  Western  babies  "because 
the  accepted  And  culturally  com- 
posed caretaking  style  is  often  at 
odds  with  infant  biology." 

Feminists  are  right  about  one 
thing — the  philosophy  urged  on 
mothers  during  the  "feminine  mys- 
tique" era  was  one  that  ultimate)) 
served  men  It  was  a  tune  when  mid- 
dles lass  nun  tame  very  close  to 
ha\  Ing  it  all:  wives  who  stayed  home 
all  dd\  (except  to  shop)  but  who  let 
the  baby  irv  while  they  got  house 
and  supper  ready  tor  their  husbands. 
Particularly  taboo  was  any  degree  of 
mother-child  attachment  which  got 
in  the  way  ol  marital  togetherness 
once  Dadd)  had  come  home;  heme 

the  emphasis  on  the  need  to  be  able 
to  leave  the  t  lllld  to  go  out  at  night 
and     the     willingness     to     go     to 

extremes  (Spoik  suggested  tying  a 

net  Over  the  top  ot  the  i  rib)  to  get 
the  child  to  shut  up  ami  stav  awa\ 
troiu  the  parental  bed  at  night  With 
remarkable  regularity  women  who 


couldn't  bear  to  listen  to  their  chil- 
dren's tries  any  longer  were  advised 
to  turn  to  solutions  which  mi  reased 

then  sexual  attractiveness  01  avail 
ability    go  to  the  beauty  parlor,  buy 

a    new    dress,    take    two    weeks    in 

Florida  with  your  husband. 

Chira's  book,  like  a  number  of 
other  feminist  works,  does  acknowl- 
edge some  of  the  factors  which 
worked  against  mother-child  inti- 
macy  during  the  post-war  era.  She 
cites  a  typical  1946  warning  about 
the  damage  done  to  children  by  "self- 
sacrificing"  moms.  She  notes  that  the 

It  is  past  time  to  consider 

whether  mothers' 
frustrations  of  the  1950s 

derived  from  the  mere 

fact  of  being  at  home,  or 

from  following  an 

extremely  flawed 

blueprint  for  childcare. 


fifties  idea  of  domesticity  was  "stay- 
ing home  to  be  a  helpmeet  for  your 
husband  or  devoting  yourself  to 
making  your  floors  spic  ami  span"; 
that  by  comparison  today's  experts 
urge  parents  to  be  "far  more  con- 
scious of  children's  feelings  than  were 
many  parents  a  generation  ago."  And 
she  reminds  us  as  well  that  as  "popu- 
lar I  reudianism  reached  a  cultural 
apogee  during  the  1950s"  (in  fact 
spot  k    considered    disseminating 

Freud's  message  one  of  his  greatest 

accomplishments),  it  beta  me  even 
more  impossible  tor  mothers  to  find 

thai  vanishing  position  where  they 
would  not  Ik-  t  ondenined  as  either 

suffocating  or  neglectful:  "A  mother 
could  do  no  right." 

Popular  Freudianism  also  meant 

this:  the  desires  ol  voting  children 
tor  Closeness  to  their  mothers  were 


now  seen  as  taming  sexual  over- 
tones which  made  it  even  more 
unthinkable  that  they  should  be  sat- 
isfied. I  he  fad  that  at  cess  to 
mother's  bed  and  mother's  breasts 
bad  l<»r  millenia  been  the  birthright 
of  the  ilultl  was  virtuallv  forgotten, 
replaced  by  the  con\  iction  that  chil- 
dren had  to  be  kepi  from  taking 
from  what  so  obviously  belonged  to 
lather.  Not  only  was  there  no 
acknowledgment  that  infants  had 
thereby  suffered  a  loss,  but  the  cov- 
ering story  about  "Oedipus"  lea 
tured  baby  boys  as  the  ones  who 
harbored  jealous  desires  to  have 
their  mothers  to  themselves  and 
would  be  willing  to  harm  their 
fathers  to  that  end. 

But  despite  its  occasional  brushes 
with  the  reality  of  mother-child  dis- 
tance during  the  post-war  era,  the 
women's  movement  as  a  whole 
always  seems  to  end  up  in  a  place 
whit  h  assumes  quite  the  opposite 
thai  men  pushed  women  into  such 
a  thorough  trial  of  mother-child 
togetherness  during  the  fifties,  and 
that  the  result  was  so  dismal  (the 
prospect  of  going  back,  (  rittenden 
observes,  could  "induce  shudders" 
in  those  born  long  after),  that  the 
Only  possible  solution  is  to  stav  out 
of  the  house. 

As  for  conservatives,  those  who 
would  like  to  see  the  fifties  return 
have  their  own  stake  in  portraying 
the  post-war  era  as  the  time  when 
children's  needs  were  well  met  at 
home,  when  the  task  of  motherhood 
was  regarded,  as  Crittenden  would 
have  it,  as  "strong,  noble  .iiitl  vital." 
I  here  even  continue  to  be  child-tare 

advisers  on  the  tight  who  encourage 

mothers  to  follow  ngitl  schedules 
ami  to  leave  the  t  hiltlreii  to  fend  for 

themselves  as  much  as  possible  Bui  I 

would  warn  those  who  would  like  to 
see  more  mothers  .it  home  totlav 
that  they  are  unlikely  to  git  there  by 
sending  a  new  round  ot  mixed  mes- 
sages   by  telling  mothers  to  stav 

home,     but     stav     distant,    or    bv 


fall  2(mmi      <  mi  Right    lournal     57 


suggesting  th.ii  there  is  something 
wrong  it  .1  mother  limls  her  ( hlld's 
c  i\  not  only  more  compelling  than 
the  call  troni  the  office,  bul  likewise 
more  compelling  than  the  need  ti> 
go  out  .it  night. 

Both  the  righl  and  the  lefl  are 
going  to  have  to  conic  to  understand 
that  women  can  stay  home  with 
their  children  without  going  hack  to 
the  titties — that  being  a  full-time 
mother  in  no  way  implies  willing- 
ness in  ai  i  epl  .ill  the  rules  that  were 
part  of  the  bargain  a  half-century 
ago.  (And  if  they  could  get  that  far, 
maybe  both  sides  could  also  get 
behind  one  of  Chira's  suggestions: 
tax  relief  targeted  at  parents  who 
need  help  either  to  afford  the  option 
of  staying  home  or  to  purchase  day- 
care.) In  the  meantime,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  there  are  big  changes 
going  on  under  the  ideological  radar. 
For  one  thing,  the  generation  born 
to  post-war  mothers — the  kids  who 
were  so  willing  to  believe  during  the 
adolescent  rebellion  of  the  sixties 
and  seventies  that  they  were  suffer- 
ing from  too  much  mothering — 
seem  to  have  reached  a  different 
consensus  in  the  shrink's  office  and 
in  their  struggles  to  heal  the  "inner 
child."  For  another  thing,  many  of 
today's  parents — not  only  the  "older 
parents"  that  the  baby-boomers  have 
become,  but  younger  parents  as 
well — have  discarded  the  post-war 
taboos  about  such  things  as  pro- 
longed breastfeeding  and  permitting 
their  children  into  their  beds. 

The  mothers  who  take  these  more 
open-ended  approaches  to  nurtu- 
rance  are  usually  very  clear  that  by 
keeping  their  children  close  they  are 
not  acceding  to  the  counsel  of  men, 
but  bucking  it.  They  may  know 
enough  about  other  cultures  to 
understand,  despite  what  Chira  and 
other  feminists  suggest,  that  the  les- 
son from  other  times  and  other  places 
is  not  really  that  the  mid-twentieth- 
century  American  approach  to  child- 
care  was  outlandishlv  excessive  or 


thai  staj  Ing  at  hi tme  with  one's ( hil- 

dren  is  somehow  a  less  "natural" 

approach  than  working  Most 
importantly,  as  ( ompared  with  the 
housewives  ol  post-wai  suburbia, 

these  new  mothers  mav  sutler  a  lit- 
tle hit  less  at  then  inability  to  show 

oil  cheerfully  unattached  offspring 

to  the  world,  benefit  a  little  bit  more 

from  long,  peai  elul  moments  when 
the  touch  of  their  children  goes  all 

through  them.  Anil  that  may  he 
enough  to  tip  the  balance. 

Having  lefl  a  careei  in  law  fbi  thirteen 
years  of  full-time  motherhood,  Eliza- 
beth Bernstein  has  recently  returned  to 
employment  in  a  high  school  computet 
lab. 


Love  Everylxxly  Right  Now 

Review  of  All  About  Love,  by  bell 
hooks 

Reviewed  by  Aleta  Richards 

One  of  the  feminist  movement's 
most  prolific  writers,  bell  hooks,  has 
now  touched  the  core  of  civil  rights 
stmggles.  Her  new  book,  .  \//  About 
Love,  suggests  that  the  experience  of 
hatred  found  in  oppressive  relation- 
ships can  be  resolved  in  the  experi- 
ence of  love.  All  About  Love  teaches 
us  how  to  find  and  keep  love  in  a 
culture  full  of  hatred. 

Early  in  the  book,  bell  hooks 
draws  on  the  work  of  Erich  Fromm 
and  Scott  Peck  to  define  love  as  "the 
will  to  extend  one's  self  for  the  pur- 
pose of  nurturing  one's  own  or 
another's  spiritual  growth."  To  clar- 
ify this  definition  hooks  writes,  "To 
truly  love,  we  must  learn  to  mix  var- 
ious ingredients — care,  affection, 
recognition,  respect,  commitment, 
and  trust,  as  well  as  honest  and 
open  communication."  She  pro- 
ceeds to  elaborate  on  a  number  of 
these  components  of  love  in  this 


short  ami  readable  bool  \t  first 
giant  c,  Ml  About  Low  appears  to  be 

another  pop  psychology  hook  on 
how  to  gel  the  love  you  want,  how- 
ever, it's  much  more  than  that.  It's 
an  important  hook  ahout  the  socio- 

logical  Implications  <>t  oppression 

and  win  it's  hard  to  give  and  ret  ei\  e 

love  in  our  highly  individualized, 

Western  culture. 

While  hooks  spends  a  significant 
amount  of  hook  time  on  the  strug- 
gles inherent  in  couple  relationships 
and  families,  she  takes  (.are  to 
devote  attention  to  the  struggles 
inherent  in  communities.  She- 
writes,  "When  we  understand  love 
as  the  will  to  nurture  our  own  and 
another's  spiritual  growth,  it 
becomes  clear  that  we  cannot  claim 
to  love  if  we  are  hurtful  and  abu- 
sive." This  is  true  at  the  individual 
and  the  community  level,  hooks 
gives  an  overview  of  the  complexi- 
ties of  human  psychological  devel- 
opment, focusing  on  the  connec- 
tions and  disconnections  which 
provide  the  framework  for  human 
development.  Lots  of  writers  have 
done  the  same  thing;  however,  bell 
hooks  goes  beyond  the  psychologi- 
cal aspects  of  human  development 
to  clarify  the  sociological  implica- 
tions of  human  development,  hooks 
writes,  ".  .  .  we  are  born  able  to 
respond  to  care.  As  we  grow  we  can 
give  and  receive  attention,  affection, 
and  joy.  Whether  we  learn  how  to 
love  ourselves  and  others  will 
depend  on  the  presence  of  a  loving 
environment."  Drawing  on  the  soci- 
ology of  knowledge,  hooks  identities 
the  ideologies  or  belief  systems 
which  prevent  the  development  and 
maintenance  of  a  loving  environ- 
ment. She  focuses  on  the  struggles 
inherent  in  the  ideologies  of  indi- 
vidualism and  patriarchy,  as  put 
forth  in  Carl  Jung's  statement, 
"Where  the  will  to  power  is  para- 
mount love  will  be  lacking. " 

The  "will  to  power"  is  present  in 
all  civil  rights  struggles.  Racism,  clas- 


58     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Book 


sism.  sexism,  .ill  the  -isms,  are  com- 
posed «>l  relationships  in  which  one 
person,  or  group  ol  people,  assert 
power  ovei  another  person,  or 
group  ol  people,  hooks  explains  the 
need  tor  power  as  based  in  leai 
"<  ultures  ol  domination  rely  on  the 
cultivation  ol  tear  as  a  way  to  ensure 
obedience.  In  our  society  we  make 
much  ot  love  and  say  little  about 
teai  Yel  we  au  all  terribly  afraid 
most  ot  the  time.  As  a  culture  we  are 
obsessed  with  the  notion  of  safer)'. 
Vet  we  do  not  question  why  we  live  in 
states  ot  extreme  anxiety  ami  dread 

leat  is  the  primary  force  upholding 

Structures  ot  domination.  ...  When 
we  are  taught  that  safety  lies  always 
with  sameness,  then  difference,  of 
any  kind,  will  appear  as  a  threat.  ... 
1  he  desire  to  be  powerful  is  rooted 
m  the  intensity  Ol  fear.  Power  gives 
us  the  illusion  of  having  triumphed 
Over  tear." 

As  an  example  ot  this  cultural 
obsession  with  fear,  hooks  cites  a 
recent  incident  where  a  young  \sian 
male  rings  a  doorbell  to  ask  lor 
directions.  He  is  shot  and  killed  by 
the  white  male  homeowner  who 
believes  he  is  protecting  his  prop- 
erty hooks  explains:  "The  person 
who  is  really  the  threat  here  is  the 
home  owner  who  has  been  so  well 
socialized  by  the  thinking  of  white 
supremacy,  ot  capitalism,  ot  patri- 
archy that  he  can  no  longer  respond 
rationally,  white  supremacy  has 
taught  him  that  all  people  of  color 
are    threats    irrespective    ol    their 

behavior.  (  apitalism  has  taught  him 

that,  at  all  costs,  his  propertv   can 

and  must  he  protected.  Patriarchy 
has  taught  him  that  his  masculinity 
has  to  be  proved  by  the  willingness 
to  conquer  tear  through  aggression; 

that  it  would  be  unmanlv  to  ask 
questions  before  taking  action."  I  he 
culture  ol  domination  generates  lear 

in  citizens,  c louding  their  percep- 
tions ot  reality. 

bell  hooks  suggests  an  antidote  tor 

this  tear  and  tin-  hatred  it  generates: 


love,  she  suggests  that  we  long  lor 
love,  but  don't  understand  the  source 

ot  our  emptiness  or  our  fulfillment 

"On  the  surface  it  appears  that  our 
nation  has  gone  so  tar  down  the  road 

ot  secular  individualism,  worshiping 

the  twin  nods  of  money  and  power, 
that  there  seems  to  be  no  place  for 
spiritual  life."  No  place,  in  other 
words,  for  love.  As  hooks  writes, 
"When  love  is  present  the  desire  to 
dominate  and  e.xerc  ise  powei  cannot 
rule   the  day.   All   the  greal    social 

movements  tor  freedom  and  justice 
in  our  scxiety  have  promoted  a  love 
ethic.  Concern  lor  the  col  lei  tive  good 
ot  our  nation,  city,  or  neighbor 
rooted  in  the  values  of  love  makes  us 


"When  love  is  present  the 

desire  to  dominate  and 

exercise  power  cannot 

rule  the  day.  " 


all  seek  to  nurture  and  protect  that 
good.  If  all  public  policy  was  created 
in  the  spirit  ot  love,  we  would  not 

have  to  worry  about  unemployment, 

homelessness,  schools  failing  to 
teach  children,  or  addiction." 

Although  hooks  suggests  that  love 
based  in  spirituality  is  the  antidote 
tor  hate,  she  does  not  suggest  that 
the  answer  is  organized  religion,  as  it 
presently  exists.  "Organized  religion 
has  failed  to  satistv  spiritual  hunger 
because  it  has  accommodated  secu- 
lar demands,  interpreting  spiritual 
lite  in  ways  that  uphold  the  values  ol 
a  production-centered  commodity 
culture.  ...  For  example,  consider 
New  Age  logic,  which  suggests  that 

the  poor  have  c hosen  to  be-  pom, 
have  c  hosen  their  suffering,  such 
thinking  removes  from  all  ol  us  who 
are  privileged  the  burden  of  account- 
ability.'' hooks  continues,  "  I  he  basic 
Interdependency  ot  life  is  ignored  so 
that  separateness  and  individual 


gam  can  be  deified."  hooks  does  not 

see  much  help  trom  the  conserva- 
tives either:  "Fundamentalist 
thinkers  use  religion  to  justifv  sup- 
porting imperialism,  militarism,  sex- 
ism, racism,  homophobia.  Ihev 
deny  the  unifying  message  of  love 
that  is  at  the  heart  ol  everj  major 
religious  tradition." 

from  the  beginning  of  the  civil 
rights  movement,  religion  has 
played  a  significant  role.  On  the 
negative  side,  it  has  justified  oppres- 
sion. On  the  positive  side,  the  expe- 
rience ot  God's  grace,  as  manifested 
in  all  major  faith  groups,  has  trans- 
formed hatred  into  love,  brotherly 
love.  This  kind  of  change  of  heart  is 
what  is  needed.  Many  writers  have 
spoken  ot  this  need.  Martin  Luther 
king,  ]i.'s  Strength  to  Love,  toe  used  on 
the  experience  of  love  as  the  spiri- 
tual force  that  unites.  Main  other 
writers  have  addressed  the  same 
issue,  including  Thomas  Merton, 
Erich  Fromm,  C.S.  lewis,  Paul 
Tillich,  Amitai  ITzioni  and  Jean 
Baker  Miller,  and  now  bell  hooks. 
The  message  is  not  new,  but  we  need 
the  reminder. 

hooks,  however,  emphasizes  an 
important  distinction  between  love 
of  self  and  love  ot  others:  "The 
teachings  about  love  offered  by 
Fromm,  King,  and  Merton  differ 
from  much  ol  today's  writings. 
I  here  is  always  an  emphasis  in  their 
work  on  love  as  an  active  force  that 
should  lead  us  into  greater  com- 
munion with  the  world.  In  their 
works,  loving  practice  is  not  aimed 
at  simply  giving  an  individual 
greater  lite  satisfaction,  it  is  extolled 
as  the  primarv  way  we  end  domina- 
tion and  oppression."  She  contin- 
ues, "Much  as  i  enjoy  populai  New 

Age-  lomiiientarv  on  love,  I  am  often 
struck  by  the  dangerous  narcissism 
tostered  bv  spiritual  rhetoni  th.it 
pays  so  much  attention  to  individ- 
ual self-improvement  and  so  little  to 

the  practice  Ol  love  within  the  con- 
text ot  community 


I. ill  2000      (  ml  Rights  loiirn.il     59 


Book       Reviews 


s<>  where  to  we  go  from  here? 
"  Awakening  to  love  ( an  happen 
ontj  .is  we  let  go  oi  our  obsession 
with  powei  and  domination."  hooks 
expands  on  this  idea:  "Living  by  .1 
love  ethi<  we  team  to  value  loyaltj 
and  .1  commitment  to  sustained 
bonds  over  materia]  advancement. 
While  careers  and  making  money 
remain  important  agendas,  they 
nevei  take  precedence  over  valuing 
and  nurturing  human  life  and  well- 
being.  "  hooks  cautions,  against  the 
interference  of  greed  and  narcissism, 
in  the  development  of  the  love 
ethic.  Since  industrialization  and 
the  development  of  the  service 
economy,  the  definition  of  the  good 
life  has  changed,  "The  good  life  was 
no  longer  to  be  found  in  commu- 
nity and  connection,  it  was  to  be 
found  in  accumulation  and  the  ful- 
fillment of  hedonistic,  materialistic 
desire." 

All  About  Love  contains  important 
information  on  how  we  become 
loveless,  how  we  stay  loveless  and 
how  we  might  move  beyond  love- 
lessness.  The  solution  is  simple,  but 
not  easy.  "Sadly,  love  will  not  pre- 
vail in  any  situation  where  one 
party  ...  wants  to  maintain  control." 
This  may  appear  to  be  an  individu- 
alistic response  to  the  problem  of 
individualism.  Individuals  learn  to 
love  themselves,  then  they  love 
each  other.  It  may  appear  to  omit 
the  structural  changes  that  are  nec- 
essary to  end  institutional  oppres- 
sion. However,  it  is  possible  that  All 
About  Love  encompass  both  micro 
and  macro  elements  of  change: 
"Through  giving  to  each  other  we 
learn  how  to  experience  mutuality 
ensuring  that  each  person's  growth 
matters  and  is  nurtured."  Everyone 
means  husband-wife,  partner-part- 
ner, parent-child,  student-teacher, 
employer-employee,  politician-citi- 
zen, and  so  on. 

We  have  to  be  able  to  imagine  a 
better  world  in  order  to  create  it.  bell 
hooks  has  a  good  imagination,  for 


example,  sin-  points  oul  thai  nol  .ill 

families   .ire   d\  stunt  tional-it    just 

serves  the  needs  <>t  the  dominant 
1  ulture  to  have  us  believe  this  m\  th. 
I  ots  oi  families  fun<  tion  |ust  fine 
and  more  <  an  do  so:  "In  fun<  tionaJ 
families  individuals  face  conflict, 
c ontradic dons,  times  ol  unhappi- 

iK'ss.  and  suffering  just  like  dysluiu  - 

in  iii.iI  families  do;  the  different  e  lies 
in  how  these  issues  art'  confronted 

and  resolved,  in  how  everyone 
copes  in  moments  of  crisis.  Healthy 
families  resolve  conflict  without 
coercion,  shaming,  or  violence." 

hooks  also  imagines  the  possibil- 
ity of  eliminating  racism,  classism 
and  sexism,  through  love.  There  are 
many,  especially  in  an  election  year, 
who  believe  our  culture  needs 
changing,  so  maybe  this  is  a  good 
time  to  embrace  bell  hook's  counter- 
culture message  of  brotherly  love. 
It's  an  old  message,  but  an  essential 
one.  Thanks  to  bell  hooks  for  telling 
us  the  old,  old  story. 

Dr.  Aleta  Richards  is  a  sociologist  tit 
Virginia  Commonwealth  University. 


"A  Hopeless  Condition  of 
Exile" 

Review  of  Give  Me  My  Father  \  Body: 
The  Life  of  Minik,  the  New  York 
Eskimo,  by  Kenn  Harper 

Reviewed  by  Margaret  Meltzer 


Unlike  other  Eskimos,  the  Polar 
Eskimos  of  northwestern  Greenland 
enjoyed  the  benefits  of  a  source  of 
iron.  According  to  Eskimo  legend, 
the  meteorites  that  supplied  the  iron 
were  once  a  woman,  her  dog,  and 
her  tent,  all  thrown  from  the  sky  by 
a  god.  Kenn  Harper  relates  the  story 
of  how  a  group  of  Eskimos  had 
become  determined  to  transport  the 
meteorites  closer  to  their  village 


sm<  c  thej  found  the  trip  to  "the 
pi. n  1  where  one  finds  metal"  so 
exhausting  1  lowi  v<  1  theii  efforts 
nut  with  disaster  the  overloaded 

sled,  the  1  hunk  ol  meteorite  the) 
Were  moving,  and  their  dogs  slid 

beneath  the  surface  ol  thawing 
ice.  lb  the  Eskimos,  "it  was  a  pun- 
ishmenl  exa  ted  bj  the  spirii  oi  the 

iron  woman  on  the  hunters." 
\i  1  Muling  to  their  belief  system, 
"the  iron  lady  had  never  begrudged 
them  the  small  fragments  they  had 
chipped  from  her  scarred  body  over 
the  centuries,  but  one  must  not  be 
greedy. " 

In  sharp  contrast,  when  the 
American  Arctic  explorer  Robert 
Peary  reached  the  meteor  site  in 
1894,  he  immediately  claimed  the 
rocks  that  had  been  part  of  the 
Eskimo  world  for  centuries  as  his 
own:  "I  scratched  a  rough  T'  on  the 
surface  of  the  metal,  as  an  indis- 
putable proof  of  my  having  found 
the  meteorite."  Not  only  did  Peary 
assert  his  "discovery"  of  the  mete- 
orites, but  he  managed  to  load  "the 
three-ton  woman  and  her  thousand- 
pound  dog"  on  his  ship  when  he 
returned  to  America. 

In  this  telling  incident,  which  he 
relates  early  in  Give  Me  \1\  Father's 
Body,  Kenn  Harper  sets  up  a  para- 
digm for  the  conflicts  and  complex 
interaction  of  cultures  that  make  his 
story  of  the  Eskimo  boy  Minik  such 
compelling  reading.  We  see  the 
high-minded  hubris  of  the  "scien- 
tist" Peary  against  the  more  folkloric 
(and  more  pragmatic  and  some- 
times even  passive)  Eskimos.  We  see 
Peary's  sense  of  expansiveness  and 
limitless  possibilities  played  out 
against  the  Eskimos'  very  real  sense 
of  limits.  Finally,  we  see  Peary's 
absolute  confidence  in  the  lightness 
of  his  actions,  which  would  directly 
determine  "the  too  short,  too  sad" 
storv  of  Minik. 

When  Peary  sailed  back  to  the 
United  States  in  1897,  he  took  with 
him  two  adult  Eskimo  men  and 


60     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Book        Reviews 


their  families,  Given  the  disastrous 
outcome  oi  this  decision,  it  is  not 
surprising  thai  in  retrospect  thr  rea- 
sons given  tor  why  this  was  done 
varied,  rhough  Pear]  would  later 
claim  that  the  Eskimos  had  wanted 
to  come  with  him,  Harpei  believes 
that  tor  Peary,  these  men,  women, 
and  children  were  essentially  "spec- 
imens." c  >ne  ot  tlk'  scientists  at  the 
American  Museum  ot  Natural  His- 
torj  had  apparently  suggested  that 
bringing  one  1  skimo  back  for  one 
year  could  provide  an  invaluable 
opportunity  tor  ethnographic 
Study.  Harper  mentions  "the  Arctic 
explorer's  tradition  of  exhibiting 
T  skimos  before  audiences  as  a  means 
of  securing  funds  for  the  continua- 
tion of  his  explorations."  In  any 
event,  Peary  referred  to  the  Eskimos 
as  he  did  to  the  meteorites — as 
"mine."  Whatever  Peary's  exact 
motives,  the  experiment  seemed 
doomed  from  the  start.  One  can 
imagine  the  confusion  and  discom- 
fort the  Hskimos  must  have  felt 
when  they  arrived  in  New  York  and 
were  viewed  by  30,000  visitors  in 
their  first  two  days  in  the  United 
States:  "No  amount  of  forewarning 
could  have  prepared  them-whose 
tribe,  indeed  whose  whole  world, 
numbered  only  2.-54  people-tor  such 
Incredible  numbers  of  human 
beings." 

Housed  in  the  overheated  base- 
ment ot  the  American  Museum  ot 
Natural  History,  and  later  at  a  farm 
in  upstate  New  York,  tour  of  the 
I  skiiiu  >s  si  m  >n  died.  ( me  of  the  adult 
men,  Nuktaq,  was  taken  back  to  the 
Arctic,  but  the  six-year-old  boy 
Minik  was  lefl  to  live  as  an  orphan, 
Increasingly  caught  between  two 
worlds,  and  never  fulls  at  home  in 
either. 

In  telling  the  story  ot  Minik,  who 
would  return  briefly  to  the  An  tu  as 
a  young  man,  and  then  die  in  New 
Hampshire  in  1918,  a  vi<  tun  ot  the 

Influenza  epidemic,  Harper  raises 
important  and  compelling  i|ues- 


tions  about  culture  mik\  identity, 

about  how  one's  sense  ot  sell  is  e  (in- 
structed. Though  Harper  is  writing 
revisionist  history,  especially  in  his 
depiction  ot  the  scientific  "heroes" 
ot  the  earl\  2oth  century,  the 
strength  of  his  book  lies  in  his  abil- 
ity to  see  how  situations  and  people 
were  neither  all  good  nor  all  bad, 
but  intriguingly,  and  even  tragically, 

complex.  Robert  Peary  and  Morris 
Ketchum  Jesup,  a  much-lauded  phi- 
lanthropist who  provided  funding 
tor  the  museum,  can  only  be  seen  as 
"villains"  in  their  failure  to  provide 
for  Minik's  physical  and  emotional 
needs.  In  a  sense,  they  represent  the 
historic  failures  of  the  "white  race" 

And  though  Minik  vowed 

to  return  to  the  arctic, 

and  finally  did  so,  harper 

emphasizes  his  romantic 

attitudes  about  exploring 

the  Arctic,  attitudes  that 

clearly  resulted  from  his 

American  education. 


in  its  treatment  of  non-white  peo- 
ples. However,  Minik  found  the  only 
real  childhood  home  he  ever  knew 
with  a  white  family.  And  though 
Minik  vowed  to  return  to  the  Arctic, 
and  finally  did  so,  Harper  empha- 
sizes his  romantic  attitudes  about 
exploring  the  \utii  attitudes  that 
dearly  resulted  from  his  American 
education,  and  that  set  him  apart 
from  the  other,  more  pragmatic 
1  skimos  in  the  \  illage  where  he  had 
been  born.  One  contemporary 
newspapei  account  called  Minik's  "a 
hopeless  condition  of  exile." 

Himself  a  man  who  has  lived  in 
and  known  two  worlds,  Kenn 
I  larper  seems  an  ideal  person  to  tell 
the  storv  ot  Minik.  Harper  is  married 


to   a    Polar    I  skimo.    and   had   the 

opportunity  to  talk  with  people  who 
had  remembered  Minik  from  then 

childhoods.  Living  in  two  worlds, 
Harper  does  seem  to  understand 
that  any  good  story  has  at  least  two 
sides.  He  arouses  deep  sympathy  tor 
Minik,  and  effectively  describes  the 
boy's  sense  of  forlorn  loss,  but 
Harper  also  admits  that  not  every- 
one telt  pity  tor  this  strange  young 
man,  who  never  quite  tit  in.  One  ot 
the  people  with  whom  Minik 
worked  when  he  returned  to  the 
Arctic — described  him  as  "a  great 
nuisance  to  us  all,  an  unhappj  lad 
with  a  bad  disposition." 

Harper  concludes  his  story  with 
one  last  statement  that  again  goes 
past  the  easiest  or  most  obvious 
i  ibservations.  Though  the  provisions 
of  the  Native  American  Grave  and 
Burial  Protection  Act  might  suggest 
that  Minik  should  be  taken  from  his 
burial  site  in  New  I  lampshire  and  re- 
buried  in  Greenland,  Harper  coun- 
ters this  view: 

I  am  often  asked,  sin  mid  Minik  Ik' 
disinterred  and  taken  alsotoQaanaaq 
for  reburial?  The  answer  must  !*.•  an 
unequivocal  no  Minik  lived  a  tor- 
tured and  lonely  lite.  I  Hit  ot  place  in 
New  York,  he  telt  no  more  at  home 
when  he  returned  to  northern 
Greenland.  In  the  tall  of  1917  he 
arrived  in  northern  New  Hampshire 
I  le  died  among  friends,  the  I  tall  fam- 

ih.  perhaps  the  truest  friends  he-  ever 
had.  Minik  died  among  friends,  let 
him  remain  there. 

The  cover  photograph  ot  Give  Me 

\l\  Father's  Body  reveals  Minik's 
whole  storv  in  one  effective  image: 
an  obviously  Native  child,  wearing 
ill-fitting  western  clothes,  looks  at 
the-  camera  with  an  expression  ot 
contusion  and  loss.  Kenn  Harper 
tills  in  tin  details  behind  this  image 

with  empathy  and  gi  i 

Margaret  Meltzei  is  an  independent 
Siholiii  ofcontemporar)  Judaism. 


i, di (  ivii  KiKhts  lournal     61 


( !apsule  Reviews 

To  Make  Out  World  Anew:  A  History  of 
African  Americans,  edited  by  Robin 
D.G.  Kelley  and  Earl  Lewis.  Oxford 
I  Fniversity  Press,  670  pages.  A  beauti- 
fully Illustrated  collection  of  essays 
taking  African  American  history  from 
its  beginnings  on  Spanish  slave 
galleons  to  current  controversies  over 
I ii  >Ik  e  anil  civil  rights  issues.  In  \hikc 
Ota  World  Anew  is  likely  to  become  a 
landmark  record  of  the  African  Amer- 
ican experience. 

Against  Race:  Imagining  Political  Cul- 
ture Beyond  the  Color  Line,  by  Paul 
Gilroy.  Harvard  University  Press,  406 
pages.  A  British-bom  black  Yale  soci- 
ologist offers  a  provocative  analysis 
of  contemporary  race  issues.  Arguing 
that  we  use  the  same  constructs  the 
Nazis  used  in  dividing  humanity  into 
different  identity  groups  based  on 
skin  color,  Gilroy  excoriates  the  (cor- 
porate- and  academic-led)  fetishizing 
of  our  identities  and  differences.  The 
media  and  commodity  culture  have, 
he  says,  driven  out  all  that  was  best  in 
black  culture  in  favor  of  hip-hop  and 
other  cheap  militancies.  Gilroy  con- 
cludes by  calling  for  a  new,  global 
cosmopolitanism.  (For  an  interesting 
counterview,  see  Color  Conscious:  The 
Political  Morality  of  Race,  by  K. 
Anthony  Appiah  and  Amy  Gut- 
mann,  Princeton  University  Press, 
191  pages.) 

Being  Black,  Living  in  the  Red:  Race, 
Wealth,  and  Social  Policy  in  America, 
by  Dalton  Conley,  California  Univer- 
sity Press,  209  pages.  Hanky,  by  Dal- 
ton Conley,  California  University 
Press,  231  pages.  A  treatise  and  a 
memoir  by  a  youngish  white  Yale 
sociologist  who  grew  up  in  an  African 
American  housing  project  on  New 
York's  Lower  East  Side,  both  about 
the  continuing  significance  of  race 
(See  item  above — department  meet- 
ings must  be  lively).  The  first  argues 
for  the  primacy  of  wealth  as  the  chief 


determinant  i  >i  so<  ial  Inequality  die 

set  "ini  disc  ribes  a  miserable  (  bild 

hood    .is   a    white   boy    in   a    tough 

neighborhood. 

Reaching  Beyond  Race,  by  Paul  Snidei 
man  and  Edward  G.  <  armines,  Har- 
vard   University    Press,    19]    pages, 

paper;  and  Racialized  Politics,  edited 
by  David  (>.  Sears,  |im  Sidanius,  and 
Lawrence  Bobo,  Chicago  University 

Press,  432  pages,  three  schools  of 
thought  govern  the  question  of  what 
whiles  really  think  about  blacks  in 
America,  the  first  is  that  whites  con- 
tinue to  harbor  negative  beliefs  and 
feelings,  but  code  them  in  terms  of 
opposition  to  race-conscious  pro- 
grams such  as  affirmative  action  and 
social  programs  that  are  seen — 
rightly  or  not — as  primarily  benefit- 
ing blacks.  The  second  holds  that 
principled  political  opposition  to 
such  programs  is  widespread,  and 
demands  for  these  programs  in 
themselves  generate  antipathy 
toward  the  groups  perceived  to  be 
making  them.  The  third  is  that 
whites  have  an  abiding  stake  in  those 
differences  in  power,  status  and  eco- 
nomic resources  that  maintain  them 
in  a  privileged  position  vis-a-vis  other 
social  groups.  These  two  books,  the 
first  by  partisans  of  the  second  posi- 
tion, the  other,  a  sophisticated, 
thoughtful  overview  and  debate 
among  the  the  principal  interlocu- 
tors in  this  discussion,  are  immensely 
useful  contributions  for  anyone  try- 
ing to  understand  America's  continu- 
ing preoccupation  with  race. 

Whiteness  of  a  Different  Color:  Euro- 
pain  Immigrants  and  the  Alchemy  of 
Race,  by  Matthew  Frye  Jacobson.  Har- 
vard University  Press,  338  pages.  Race 
is  a  social  construct.  Who  gets 
defined  as  what,  and  with  what  con- 
sequences, depends  on  the  cultural 
and  political  realities  of  a  given  time 
and  place,  not  on  some  underlying 
biological  fact.  In  this  book,  Jacobson 
describes  how  various  immigrant 


groups  who  arrived  in  the  IV,n  and 

early  2o,n  century,  such  as  the  Ital- 
ians and  Irish,  became  "re-rai  ialized" 

as  whites  in  the  da  ades  tli.it  fol- 
lowed.  Among  the  many  valuable 

i  ontributions  of  this  book  is  the 
forceful  reminder  oi  just  how 
"other,"  "foreign,"  and  "alien, 
immigrant  groups  — now  so  proto- 
typically  American-were  once  per- 
leivcd  as  being. 

Uneasy  Alliances:  Raw  and  Party  Com- 
petition in  America,  by  Paul  Frymer, 
Princeton  University  Press,  214  pages 
The  author  argues  that  two-part) 
competition  in  the  United  States  leads 
to  the  marginalization  of  African 
Americans  as  the  parties  compete  for 
swing  voters,  who  tend,  he  asserts,  to 
be  white  conservatives.  Fending  to  the 
policy  interests  of  the  "captured" 
black  vote  is  simply  not  a  priority  tor 
politicians  struggling  to  win  over  a 
majority  of  voters:  witness  candidate 
Clinton's  canny  distancing  from 
African  Americans  in  the  1992  elec- 
tion. Frymer's  book  was  written  before 
President  Clinton's  popularity  with 
African  Americans  was  sealed  during 
the  impeachment  debates,  and  would 
need  to  successfully  interpret  that 
phenomenon  to  be  fully  convincing. 

Jefferson  and  the  Indians:  The  Tragu 
Fate  of  the  First  Americans,  by 
Anthony  EC.  Wallace,  Harvard  Uni- 
versity Press,  394  pages.  Most  cri- 
tiques focus  on  Jefferson's  ambiva- 
lence, not  to  say  hypocrisy,  regarding 
African  .Americans  and  slavery.  This 
book  focuses  on  his  treatment  of  the 
Indians.  An  admirer  of  Indian  ways 
and  a  student  of  Indian  languages, 
Jefferson  also  promoted  land  seizures 
and  government  policies  that  led  to 
ethnic  cleansing.  If  it  becomes  harder 
and  harder  to  admire  Jefferson,  it  is 
still  true  that  he  remains,  in  the  inec- 
oncilable  enigma  of  his  pulse-quick- 
ening rhetoric  and  squalid  behavior. 
a  tantalizing  personification  of  .Amer- 
ica's fundamental  ambiguities.  c]3 


62     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


Slavery,  continued  from  page  1 1 

victims  ni  slaverj  experience  confinement  and  degrada- 
tion no  less  abhorrent  We  need  prominent  well-funded 

civil  rights  organizations  to  take  the  lead  in  confronting 
this  violation.  Organizations  like  the  American  (  iv  il  Lib- 
erties Union,  the  Anti-Defamation  I  eague,  the  National 
Organization  tor  Women,  and  constituency-based 
groups  like-  the  N.VU  T.  the  Organization  ol  (  hinese 
Americans,  National  (  oundl  ol  I  a  Raza,  and  mam  oth- 
ers.  should  consider  making  this  issue  a  top  priority. 
Social  service  providers  should  recognize  a  new  'clien- 
tele" population,  and  target  services  and  information 
appropriately.  \nd  the  press  should  engage  in  a  tar  more 
vigorous  coverage  ot  this  issue. 

\s  Frederick  Douglass  predicted,  the  ancient  institu- 
tion ol  slavery  cannot  be  destroyed  by  simple  legal  abo- 
lition. Though  chattel  slavery  has  thankfully  been  ended 
in  our  country,  a  more  cunning  form  of  human  bondage 
has  risen  in  its  wake.  And  precisely  because  this  new  slav- 
ery exploits  the  gap  between  law  and  social  reality,  it  is 
all  the  more  incumbent  upon  civil  society  to  take  action. 

As  Kevin  Bales  notes,  "If  Americans  were  being  traf- 
ficked out  and  enslaved  in  other  countries,  there  would 
be  a  war.  There  would  be  bombing."  His  inversion  ot  the 
situation  stands  as  a  stark  challenge:  Outrage  loses  its 
moral  force  it  selectively  applied. 

1  will  be  the  first  to  admit  to  having  failed  in  con- 
fronting domestic  slavery.  When  Dawn  called  last  \ear, 
our  response  was  simply  inadequate.  Local  service 
groups  could  have  assisted  the  enslaved  Thai  woman, 
and  we  could  have  checked  to  make  sure  she  was  legally 
employed.  Now  we  know  better,  and  wre  are  working  on 
new  initiatives  to  assist  service  providers  and  increase 
public  awareness  [See  sidebar  on  page  9:  What  to 
do  if  you  suspect  a  ta.se  of  domestic  slavery]. 

Ultimately,  it  is  ordinary  citizens  who  can  do  the  most 
to  uncover  cases  of  slavery.  People  like  Dawn,  the  nurses 
in  Quincy,  and  the  street  vendor  in  New  York  City  are 
just  three  examples  of  alert  civilians.  As  Joy  Zarembka 
remarks,  "Our  greatest  asset  is  a  vigilant  public."  She 
slu  mid  km  iw.  I  <  >r  several  years  she  lived  in  a  middle-class 
Maryland  suburb  two  doors  down  from  a  case  of  invol- 
untary servitude. 

"The  woman  was  always  working  and  never  left  the 
house,"  notes  Zarembka.  "Had  I  thought  about  the  situ- 
ation and  been  more  pro-active,  I  could  have  clone  some- 
thing. Investigate  further  anything  you  suspect,  as  safely 
as  pi  issible.  It  not  tor  the  good  Samaritan,  how  would  we 
lincl  out  about  these  cases.'" 


Our  Historic  Responsibility 

\finh  ot  the  American  civil  rights  movemenl  arose  In 

response  to  challenges  posed  bv   the  country's  terrible 


legacy  ol  white-on-black  chattel  slavery.  Even  today, 
man)  wounds  remain  open,  and  many  wrongs  go  unre- 
dressed We  are  still  struggling  with  our  nation's  great 
moral  stain. 

Because  slavery  remains  an  American  touchstone, 
some  in  the  civil  rights  community  mav  feai  that  action 
on  contemporary  slavery  threatens  to  relativize  powerful 
historical  memories  and  claims.  Amidst  a  growing  dis- 
cussion over  responses  to  the  continuing  legacy  ot 
African  American  slavery,  some  may  view  growing  atten- 
tion to  this  "new  slavery"  as  a  harmful  distraction.  Several 
prominent  activists  have  quietly  expressed  the  concern 
thai  discussions  ot  modern  day  human  bondage — even 
in  the  United  States- -might  actually  set  back  the  coun- 
try's delicate  process  of  making  amends. 

In  the  contrary.  Liberty  is  useless  unless  it  is  exercised. 
I  he  ultimate  expression  of  freedom  is  to  help  liberate 
others.  Fighting  slavery  today  is  how  America  demon- 
strates that  it  can  triumph  over  a  legacy  of  slavery  and 
enslavement.  A  vain  attempt  to  keep  a  lock  on  historic 
claims  ot  suffering  would  fail  and  would  allow  others  to 
suffer  the  evils  we  shed  our  blood  to  end.  America  must 
be  a  proud  abolitionist  nation. 

As  this  young  anti-slavery  activist  was  shocked  to  learn, 
slavery  is  once  again  an  American  civ  il  rights  problem,  a 
violation  of  the  most  fundamental  right  Americans  can 
have:  freedom.  1  believe  that  as  slavery  in  America 
becomes  known,  civil  rights  activists — old  and  new — will 
be  drawn  to  the  root  impulse  ot  the  American  civil  rights 
movement:  abolitionism.  Our  own  civil  society — not  to 
mention  the  world's — may  depend  upon  it.     □ 

lissi  Sagi  is  mi  Associate  Dire*  roROi  mi  Amerii  w 

Anti-Si  \\i  ky  Okoup. 


Charitable  Choice,  continued  from  page  45 

Cizik  Responds 

One  wonders  where  to  begin  in  addressing  Rev.  Karry 
I  v  nns  caustic  criticism  of  charitable  choice.  At  the  out- 
set, he  maintains  that  it  "may  be  the  worst  idea  in  mod- 
ern political  history."  That  is  a  remarkable  statement, 
given  the  emerging  consensus  that  charitable  choice  is 
not  only  .i  good  idea,  an  idea  whose  time  has  come,  but 
an  idea  that  is  living  up  to  its  optimistic  billing. 

But  it  is  not  surprising  that  I  v  im  reaches  false  conclu- 
sions when  he  starts  with  a  false  premise  -  that  tax  dollars 
"hit  the  collection  plate."  Government  funds  are  not 
going  tor  the  spread  of  a  "salvific"  message — they  air 
going  to  provide  social  services.  Dollars  in  purchase'  ot 

welfare  services  are  paid  tor  performance  and  so  identified 
and  processed.  If  a  faith-based  organization  produces 


l. ,11  2000      I  iv  il  Rights  lournal     63 


receipts  thai  show  all  the  mone)  wenl  to  recipients' 
needs  and  governmenl  workers  and  i  riteria  determine 
who  these  ret  Ipients  will  be  then  the  purpose  ol  go\ 
ernmenl  will  be  served.  A  prediction  is  made  <>i  "unig- 
norable"  temptations  thai  will  "inevitably  subje<  t  people 
to  taxpayer-financed  evangelism."  Again,  the  "inevitable" 
l). is  not  happened  with  .1  u-st  covering  tens  oi  thousands. 
No  amounl  ol  alarmisl  rhetoric  about  "religious  hate 
groups"  or  "religious  bigots"  tan  besmirch  the  <.  haritable 

choice  record.  Concern  about  hate  groups  seems  most 

unwarranted.  Are  they  likely  to  seek  or  find  recruits 
doing  social  work  among  the  disadvantaged,  or  to  com- 
pete with  the  Salvation  Army  in  serving  the  poorest  citi- 
zens at  little  or  no  profit?  While  it  is  a  fledgling  program, 
it  is  a  success  and  should  be  expanded  because  it  works. 

Mr.  Lynn  refers  to  "a  raft  of  Supreme  Court  decisions" 
which  hold  it  unconstitutional  for  government  to 
advance  religion.  He  asserts  "factors"  in  some  funding 
arrangements  which  purportedly  would  be  disqualifying 
under  the  "advance  religion"  test.  The  flaw  in  this  is  that 
in  Mitchell  v.  Helms  the  raft  of  decisions  was  exhaustively 
examined  by  the  Court,  and  it  found  "anomalies"  with 
contradictory  and  "disparate"  lines  of  reasoning.  Two  ear- 
lier cases  [Meek  v.  Pittenger  (1975)  and  Wolman  v.  Walter 
(1977)]  which  might  have  given  some  credence  to  Mr. 
Lynn's  view,  had  they  not  already  been  disregarded  in  later 
cases  [i.e.  Zobrest  v.  Catalina  Foothills  School  District  ( 1993)], 
were  then  explicitly  overruled  by  the  Supreme  Court. 

While  Justice  O'Connor,  in  a  concurring  opinion  with 
Justice  Breyer,  expressed  some  reservations  as  to  the  near 
total  reliance  on  the  four  Justice  plurality  opinion  upon 
the  neutrality  factor,  she  joined  in  overruling  the  earlier 
precedents.  The  charitable  choice  law,  with  its  cautious 
limiting  provisions,  fully  meets  the  test  of  the  Mitchell 
precedent  including  the  factors  for  consideration  dis- 
cussed in  the  concurring  opinion.  If  Mr.  Lynn's  opinion 
ever  did  express,  as  he  would  have  it,  "the  extant  consti- 
tutional pattern,"  that  is  not  so  now. 

Lynn  Responds 

Richard  Cizik's  ringing  endorsement  of  "charitable 
choice"  makes  some  unjustified  constitutional  argu- 
ments and  gives  far  too  much  credit  to  the  largely 
untested  programs  he  is  so  pleased  to  see  receive  the  ben- 
efit of  government  (that  is,  taxpayer)  largesse. 

The  four  members  of  the  Supreme  Court  who,  in 
Mitchell  v.  Helms,  were  willing  to  allow  the  loan  of  some 
computers  to  Louisiana  religious  schools  would  have  to 
take  another  long  step  before  they  could  be  seen  as 
endorsing  direct  cash  subsidies  to  institutions  whose 
programs  are  by  definition  nearly  exclusively  religious: 
the  local  church  on  the  corner,  for  example.  Moreover, 
the  majority  of  the  Court  certainly  has  not  abandoned 
the  test  of  whether  a  program  is  too  "pervasively 


sectarian"  to  receive  funds  1  ti.it  is  |us1  wishful  thinking 
on  the  Reverend  (  izlk's  pan  We  have  in  no 
1 1  shed  the  principle  that  by  giving  funds  to  secular  t 

1  /.it  mi  is,  1 11  it  to  no  religious  groups,  we  have  violated  the 
print  [pie  oi  equal  protet  don  <>t  the  law. 
( in  the  <  ivi)  rights  front,  1  also  believt  <  Izil  m  • 

fundamental  error  in  his  assumption  that  because  reli- 
gious liberty  has  been  deemed  the  "lust  liberty"  that  it 
somehow  trumps  all  other  <  ivil  rights  com  <ms.  It  is  very 

difficull  tor  me  to  conceive  <>t  any  "right"  oi  the  local 
Presbyterian  or  (  atholit  <  hurt  li  to  ret  eive  tax  dollars  as 
more  significant  than  the  civil  rights  of  a  person  who  is 
not  ol  thai  religious  persuasion  to  have  an  equal  oppor- 
tunity to  be  considered  lor  employment  in  a  supposedly 
secular  job  there  implementing  some  federal  program. 

I  am  not  terribly  impressed  that  in  a  study  (done  by  a 
group  that  supports  "charitable  choice"  by  the  way)  onrj 
two  pet  >ple complained  of  the  religious  character  of  their 
placement.  The  highly  vulnerable  individuals  who 
receive  benefits  under  the  programs  studied  are  neither 
likely  to  know  the  law  and  the  potential  for  secular  reas- 
signment (since  there  is  no  notice  requirement)  nor  any 
source  of  legal  help  to  understand  what  the  conse- 
quences of  any  perceived  non-cooperation  might  be  dew 
carry  a  card  with  the  ACLU's  phone  number).  Thus,  they 
go  along  with  what  they  are  told  because  they  are  in  des- 
perate need  of  what  they  are  owed. 

It  is  also  curious  that  neither  in  this  study  nor  any 
other  academic  analysis  is  it  demonstrable  that  "faith- 
based"  programs  are  any  more  efficient  or  effective  in 
meeting  human  needs  than  any  other  avenue.  If  such 
programs  have  long-term  spiritual  benefits,  I  applaud  it 
as  a  minister,  but  still  see  it,  as  a  constitutional  lawyer,  as 
an  impermissible  goal  if  government  funds  help  to 
achieve  it. 

Of  course  there  will  be  what  Cizik  calls  "new  players'1 
whenever  a  new  trough  of  funding  appears,  but  they  are 
the  players  least  likely  to  have  the  background  and 
expertise  to  do  the  job  right.  Their  desire  for  funding 
should  not  be  misconstrued  as  the  equivalent  of  success- 
fully providing  the  resources  needed  to  achieve  results. 

Politicians  from  both  parties  have  already  begun 
jumping  on  this  bandwagon.  Curiously,  though,  the 
same  President  Clinton  whom  Cizik  quotes  in  support  of 
the  "emerging  consensus"  had  his  Justice  Department 
try  to  eliminate  many  of  the  constitutional  problems  I 
noted  in  my  original  piece  with  a  package  of  technical 
corrections  to  the  Welfare  Reform  bill,  but  the  effort  was 
rebuffed  in  its  entirety  by  the  Republican  Congress. 

Candidates  Gore  and  Bush  both  like  the  "charitable 
choice"  concept.  Their  propensity  to  latch  onto  a  new 
allegedly  "pro-religion"  program — in  this  campaign  that 
sometimes  looks  more  like  a  race  for  national  preacher 
than  President — must  be  taken  with  some  sizeable  num- 
ber of  salt  grains.  CT3 


64     Civil  Rights  Journal  /  Fall  2000 


UNITED  MATES 
(  ()\l MISSION  ON 
CIVIL  RIGHTS 
REGIONAL  Oil  ICES 

I  he  (  ommission's  six  regional 
offices  coordinate  the  agen<  j  's 
operations  in  theii  regions  and 
.issist  si  advisor)  committees — 
one  foi  ea<  h  state  <i\m.\  the  District 
<>l  i  olumbia — in  their  activities. 


EASTERN  REGIONAL  OFFICE 

hj-4  9th  Street,  N.W. 
Suite  500 

Washington,  DA    20425 
Ki-Taek  <  nun,  Din  i  few 
(202)  176-7533 

(  (iMIlatli  lit 

I  Delaware 

Distru  t  ot  (  olumbia 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massac  luisct  ts 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

New  York 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode  Island 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West  Virginia 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL 
OFFICE 

61  Forsyth  Street,  S.W. 
suite  1840 

Atlanta,  Georgia  10303 
Bobby  /).  Doctor,  Directoi 

1404)  562-7000 

Florida 

Georgia 

Kentucky 
North  (  arolina 
South  <  arolina 
Tennessee 

MIDWESTERN  REGIONAL 
OFFICE 

^  West  Monroe  Street 

Suite  410 

(  hicago,  Illinois  60603 

<  onstance  /'.  Davis,  Dim  tot 

(312)  353-8311 

Illinois 
Indiana 

Mu  In-, in 
Minnesota 

Ohio 

\\  is<  onsin 


CENTRAL  REGIONAL  OFFICE 

Gateway  Towet  II 
400  State  Avenue 

suite  908 

Kansas  I  ity,  Kansas  66101-2406 
Melvin  I .  Jenkins,  Dim  tot 
i"l  1)  S51-1400 

Alabama 
Arkansas 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Oklahoma 

ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  REGION- 
AL OFFICE 

1700  Broadway 

Suite  710 

Denver,  (  olorado  80290 
John  I.  Dulles  II.  Directoi 
1 103)  866-1040 

(  olurado 
Montana 
North  Dakota 
South  Dakota 
Utah 
Wyoming 

WESTERN  REGIONAL  OFFICE 

1660  Wilshire  Boulevard 

suite  SIO 

Los  Angeles,  <  alifbmia  90010 
Philip  Montez,  Diret  tot 
(21  :>  894-3437 

Alaska 

Arizona 

(  alifornia 

I  lawaii 

Idaho 

Nevada 

New  Mexico 

Oregon 

Texas 

Washington 


I  is.  <  lommission  <>n  <  ivil  Rights 
Washington,  DC  20425 


()///(  7.1/  BUSINESS 
PENA1  TY  FOR  PRIVATE  USE 


$300 


INDICIA 


I'osi  \<,i    VND  FEES  PAID 

is  (  OMMISSIONON  CIVIL  RIGHTS 

<  ONTROl  I  I  l)<  IR(  II  VTION